Letter to the Editor: PETA Says Royal Hanneford Circus Animals Not Humanely, Safely Handled

The Royal Hanneford Circus is coming to town, and if caring area residents learned more about this outfit’s sordid history, they’ll think twice before buying a ticket.

Royal Hanneford Circus circumvents the oversight and authority of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees circuses, by not possessing an exhibitor license. The animals it uses are leased from outside companies, most of which have deplorable records, including failing to handle animals humanely and safely, among many other issues.

Royal Hanneford has hired its elephant acts from Carson & Barnes Circus, whose animal-care director was videotaped viciously attacking elephants with a sharp metal-tipped bullhook, shocking them with an electric prod, and instructing trainers to jab bullhooks into the animals' flesh until they screamed in pain.

Carson & Barnes was recently cited for failing to provide an elephant named Bunnie with veterinary care after neglecting to notice that she had a consistently recurring and apparently painful leg condition. Last year, the USDA cited Carson & Barnes for failing to provide two animals with adequate veterinary care: an elephant named Nina, who rapidly lost 500 pounds, and a pygmy hippo named Katie, who languished for months from an apparently untreated ailment. Both Nina and Katie are now dead.

Before giving up its own license, Royal Hanneford was repeatedly cited for failing to provide animals with adequate space and proper veterinary care. The circus was cited almost a dozen times for not providing elephants with proper foot care—even though foot problems and arthritis are the leading reasons why captive elephants are euthanized.

Parents, grandparents, please don’t let your little ones believe that cruelty to animals is “OK”. Explain why you won’t be buying tickets to the circus.

— Katie Arth, Media Assistant Manager, PETA

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Royal Hanneford Circus will be appearing at the Westchester County Center President’s Day weekend Saturday, February 18 thru Monday, February 20. The original article can be found here.

Patch file photo.