According to Reuters, PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, filed a formal legal complaint on Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for information about animal injustices committed against elephants and lions performing in the popular traveling circus show. The complaint accuses Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus of violating the Animal Welfare Act by forcing animals to perform and using brutal tactics to force them to do so.
The PETA lawsuit accuses the USDA of failing to produce the proper documentation, proving that investigations were performed by the USDA and that the circus passed. There have been three independent investigations into the practices of Ringling Brothers Circus concerning potential Animal Welfare Act violations. “By ignoring its own investigators’ recommendations for prosecution, the USDA has ignored Ringling’s violations of federal law,” PETA president Ingrid Newkirk said in her public statement. “Ringling must be held accountable and so must the US government, which has a legal mandate to protect animals.”
PETA initially accused Ringling Brothers of several animal abuses, including beating an elephant that refused to perform and causing the death of a lion from heat exhaustion while traveling in a train car. The allegations were investigated by the USDA, but the cases were closed due to the expiration of the statue of limitations. PETA argues that the cases should be reopened and Ringling Brothers should be held accountable for their serious transgressions against animals.
A spokesman for Feld Entertainment, parent company to Ringling Brothers,’ said they are not able to comment on the lawsuit because they have not yet seen it and they believe that the claims are most likely part of a publicity move by PETA. “PETA’s characterizations of these three USDA incidents are completely outrageous and untrue,” Feld vice president told Reuters. “This sounds like another baseless publicity stunt by PETA,” he said. “PETA has had a long-running campaign against Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey … As people can see when they come to Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey, the animals are thriving under our care.”
