Shrine Circus DIRT!

[Guest guest]

You think Ringling is bad? Shrine circus gives them a hard run for the money. Please come to the demo and enlighten people. Here are some (ok, lots) of facts about the incidents occuring at Shrine circuses and the seedy operations and people they lease from and employ. Shrine Circus USDA License #(None), 2900 Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607 Shrine Circus escapes the scrutiny of governing bodies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and local animal control agencies by not owning the animals used in its shows or possessing an exhibitor license. The animals are leased from outside

companies, including Tarzan Zerbini Circus, George Carden Circus, Jordan World Circus, Hawthorn Corporation, Royal Hanneford Circus, Franzen Bros. Circus, and Circus Hollywood, so Shrine Circus is not subject to citations under its name. Each Shrine Temple produces its own circus, so animal exhibits will vary from temple to temple and from year to year. Exhibitors of Shrine Circus-leased animals have failed to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition as established in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The USDA has cited Shrine Circus exhibitors for failure to provide veterinary care, adequate shelter from the elements, nutritious food, and clean water, as well as failure to handle animals in a manner that prevents trauma and harm and ensures public safety. Animals used by Shrine Circus have caused deaths and injuries. Contact PETA for documentation. November 18, 2005: A volunteer clown for the Shriners was sentenced to four years in prison and eight years of extended supervision for using a computer to facilitate a sex crime. The man traveled from Kentucky to Wisconsin with the intent of having sex with a 14-year-old girl. The president of the Owensboro Shrine Clowns defended the man's character. February 2005: During a Shrine Treasurers Association of North America seminar, a Shriner commented that the temple’s circus committee was disguising the fact that the circus was losing money in a budget report. January 31,

2005: An elephant trainer with Tarzan Zerbini Circus was trampled to death by one of the elephants as the animals were being loaded into a trailer following performances at the Mizpah Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne, Ind. November 26, 2004: An ambulance was called to the Hadi Shrine Circus at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind., after a circusgoer was bitten on the cheek by a chimpanzee belonging to by Zoppe-Rosaire Chimpanzees while posing for pictures. The patron was treated at the hospital for a puncture wound. August 29, 2004: An elephant with the George Carden Circus attacked an arena worker following a performance at the El Maida Shrine Circus in El Paso, Texas. The

elephant knocked the man down, threw him into a wall, and pinned him against a fence. He sustained a dislocated shoulder, a torn rotator cuff, and nerve injury, which required surgery for repair and reconstruction and resulted in more than $15,000 in medical bills. April 9, 2003: The USDA filed charges against Hawthorn Corporation, a company that supplies elephants and tigers to Shrine Circuses. The complaint alleges 47 violations of the minimum standards of care established in the Animal Welfare Act. Charges include using physical abuse to train, handle, and work an elephant, causing physical harm and discomfort, failing to provide veterinary care to an emaciated elephant, failure to provide veterinary care to an elephant suffering with severe

chemical burns and a bacterial infection, failure to provide veterinary care to several elephants with potentially deadly foot problems, and unsafe public contact. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510 757-622-7382 • PETA.org • Circuses.com Shrine Circus Factsheet – Page 2 of 4 – Updated February 21, 2006 March 24, 2003: The Associated Press reported that a Shetland pony with the Shrine Circus in Lincoln, Neb., was chased by police officers and stopped traffic in the downtown area after bolting from the circus tent. March 13, 2003: An

editorial in the Calgary Sun stated, “Three years ago, I attended the Shrine Circus with my then 2½-year-old twin boys and vowed then that I’d never attend another circus that used wild, exotic animals for entertainment. ... [T]he animals were miserable and terribly treated, and ... the routines ... were, frankly, extremely boring.” March 10, 2003: According to The Edmonton Sun, a local Shriner admitted that statements made by club members may have misled the public into believing that circus profits would help sick kids and fund hospital operations when in fact the circus funds are used for administrative costs. March 2, 2003: A 9,000-pound African elephant performing with Jordan World Circus at the Shrine Circus in Muskegon, Mich., escaped from a tent shortly before a performance and was recaptured 15 minutes later in a busy downtown area. October 25, 2002: According to the Associated Press, the former executive director of the Osman Temple Shrine Circus in Minnesota was found guilty of embezzling more than $300,000 from the organization. A jury found Robert L. Janecek guilty on 21 counts of mail fraud, four counts of tax evasion, three counts of failure to file tax returns, and one count of filing a false tax return. August 2, 2002: According to The Halifax Herald Limited, three elephants performing for Shrine Circuses and giving rides to children were quarantined in Ontario and removed from Canada on July 13 after Canadian authorities were alerted by the USDA that the elephants had been in prolonged contact with a tuberculosis-positive elephant. June 17, 2002: Two elephants, named Tory and Mary, performing with the Shrine Circus in Menomonie, Wis., bolted out of a circus tent during a show, scattering crowds. Mary hiked 2 miles through town and was recaptured at the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus when trucks blocked her escape. One child was injured, and the elephants damaged a door at the park and caused

$600 in damage to a city truck. The Shriners had contracted with George Carden Circus for the event. May 29, 2002: According to The Detroit News, attendance had declined 10 percent at the 2001 Metro Detroit Shrine Circus. April 3, 2002: According to the Associated Press, the former executive director of the Mendota Heights-based Osman Temple in Minnesota was indicted for allegedly stealing more than $300,000 from the nonprofit organization and using the Midwest Shrine Circus Committee to launder embezzled funds. April 13, 2001: A letter to the

editor published in the Chicago Sun-Times stated, “I escorted a group of schoolchildren, including my 8-year-old daughter, to this year’s Medinah Shrine Circus. ... When the elephants were brought behind the curtain, the trainer began verbally abusing and hitting the elephant. We watched in horror as he swung a stick with all his force and struck the elephant in the back of the leg. This must have hurt because the elephant let out a scream that could be heard throughout the UIC Pavilion. The kids were frightened and asked me why the man was hurting the elephant.” January 31, 2001: Four hundred Shriners were entertained by nude lap dancers and public sex acts at the Winnipeg Khartum Shriners VIP “Gentlemen’s” Dinner. May 29, 2000: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Shriners’ membership had dropped to 528,000 by 1999, from a peak of 940,000 in the 1980s. April 29, 2000: The Tebala Shrine in Rockford, Ill., reneged on assurances that it would not use exotic animals in the circus. Elephants, tigers, and lions were featured. April 13, 2000: An elephant named Tina used in Shrine Circuses was quarantined after testing positive for a human strain of tuberculosis. People

for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510 757-622-7382 • PETA.org • Circuses.com Shrine Circus Factsheet – Page 3 of 4 – Updated February 21, 2006 February 11, 2000: The Albuquerque, N.M., shrine reneged on a promise to use an animal-free circus. The shrine featured numerous animal acts, including a killer elephant named Misty. January 26, 2000: A 4,500-pound female African elephant named Kenya, who had been featured in Shrine Circuses, attacked and killed a circus worker in Florida. The 18-year-old elephant knocked her to the ground and crushed her. December 2, 1999: According to The Evansville Courier, attendance was dropping at the annual Hadi Shrine Circus; there were an estimated 3,200 fewer audience members present this year than there were the previous year. October 15, 1999: The San Antonio Express-News reported, “The money coming from this weekend’s [Alzafar Shrine] circus proceeds does not go toward the 22 children’s hospitals in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.” April 29, 1999: As a result of sustaining multiple injuries from an elephant while performing for the Shrine Circus

in Duluth, Minn., an animal handler was hospitalized in serious condition. March 1999: An evaluation by the Council of Better Business Bureaus determined that the Shriners did not meet its standards, which recommend that at least 50 percent of a charity’s income be spent on programs directly related to the organization’s stated purpose. According to the evaluation, Shriners had spent only 24 percent on program services. February 1999: During a risk management presentation to the Shrine Treasurers Association of North America, the Shriners learned that they had been provided by a circus’ insurance agent with a fraudulent certificate of insurance on a policy

that did not exist after an attendee was injured at a Shrine Circus. November 26, 1998: In an interview conducted during a performance of the Hadi Shrine Circus and published in The Evansville Courier, Hawthorn tiger trainer Othmar Vohringer recalled a serious attack that had occurred during his career: “A lion took my arm off. It was just hanging there. It had to be reattached.” November 13, 1998: The same tiger used in Shrine Circuses who killed his trainer on October 8, 1998, attacked and killed his owner in Newberry, Fla. The tiger was shot dead. October 8, 1998: A tiger attacked and killed his trainer in Newberry, Fla. The tiger,

who had been featured in numerous Shrine Circuses, grabbed the trainer by the throat. May 15, 1997: A transient who came to Omaha, Neb., with the Shrine Circus was convicted of second-degree murder. The victim’s partially nude, badly decomposed body was found on June 16, 1995. She had been beaten to death with a chunk of concrete. April 13, 1997: A spooked elephant performing at a Shrine Circus in the city of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, slapped a handler with her trunk and bit him on the head and back, causing injuries serious enough to require hospitalization. March 18, 1997: A bear with the Shrine Circus in

Grand Rapids, Mich., bit off the tip of a 2-year-old child’s finger. There were no safety barriers around the bear cages, and 30 other children had been petting the bear. September 5, 1996: According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “a former bookkeeper for the Al Chymia Shrine Circus has filed a $1 million sexual harassment lawsuit against the organization.” February 6, 1995: An employee of Tarzan Zerbini Circus was stepped on by an elephant while loading the elephants into a trailer at the Mizpah Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne, Ind. The employee suffered a crushed pelvis and was in critical condition. August 20, 1994: An elephant named Tyke who had rampaged at the Altoona, Pa., Shrine Circus on April 21, 1993, killed her trainer while performing in Honolulu, Hawaii, stomped on a circus groom, and injured a dozen spectators. April 1994: Three children were injured when an elephant giving rides at a Shrine-sponsored circus in Muskegon, Mich., fell into the passenger loading platform, spilling the riders and bending the platform. http://www.myspace.com/fortheanmals SMASH HLS!!! http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual & VideoID=17319933