PETA's Ringling Bros. Investigation Spurs USDA Investigation into Ringling

July 31, 2009

Dear Shannon, From a front page story in the New York Daily News to coverage on CNN and articles on the world's most popular blogs, including The Huffington Post and Perez Hilton, our new Ringling Bros.

investigation has been capturing attention around the globeâ€”awakening the world to the abuses that happen behind the scenes at "the saddest show on Earth!"

The shocking and eye-opening undercover video, which we released last Wednesday, shows Ringling employees as they beat and whip elephants and tigers so that they will perform "tricks," and the video has now been viewed more than 250,000 times on PETA's Web sites alone. Hundreds of thousands of people are seeing with their own eyes the beatings that Ringling's animals endure night after night, month after month, and the cruelty is undeniable. And tens of thousands have been motivated to act because of this video. Since the release of our Ringling investigation a little over one week ago, more than 55,000 people have written to the U.S. Department of Agriculture asking that it seize Tonka and the other elephants who are beaten by Ringling with sharp bullhooks. On behalf of all animals used in circuses, I'm pleased to announce that the USDA has launched an investigation into "the saddest show on Earth."

A representative of the USDA said, "We take the protection of animals very seriously" and "We will initiate a thorough investigation and provide the findings as soon as available."

This much-needed attention and call to action against Ringling's routine beating of elephants with bullhooks is a huge step toward ending the cruelty once and for all, but there is still more that we can do. We must keep the pressure on the elephant-beating circus so that one day, Tonka and her friends can roam free in a spacious sanctuary rather than continue to live a sad, painful, and fear-ridden "life" with shackles around their legs and bullhooks dug into their skin. Please continue to share our investigation and video with everyone you know because spreading the word (and especially the recorded proof) is one of the best ways that individuals can help fight cruelty to animals. In addition, find out when "the saddest show on Earth" is coming to a town near you, order yourself a protest sign, and join the thousands of people around the world who are calling for an end to Ringling's abuse. To keep up to date on our campaign against Ringling and to learn the outcome of the pending lawsuit against the circus as soon as it's announced, visit RinglingBeatsAnimals.com.Kind regards,

Ingrid E. NewkirkPresident

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