Love And Bananas hits theaters, Wisconsin Historical Society, Carson & Barnes Circus, Circus World, Elephantopia, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve, The Louisville Zoo & Digital X-ray system for our elephants

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SCREENINGS

Date(s)
City
State
Theater
04/22FlagstaffAZHarkins Flagstaff 16
04/22PhoenixAZFilmBar
04/22MesaAZHarkins Superstition Springs 25
04/22ScottsdaleAZHarkins Shea 14
04/22SedonaAZMary D. Fisher Theatre
04/22Chino HillsCAHarkins Chino Hills 18
04/22Long BeachCAThe Art Theatre
Director in attendance
04/22MontereyCAOsio Theater
04/22RedlandsCAHarkins Mountain Grove 16
04/22Santa AnaCAFrida Cinema
Director in attendance
04/22DurangoCOAnimas City Theatre
04/22Fort CollinsCOThe Lyric
04/22St. LouisMOWebster Film Series
04/22ConcordNHRed River Theatres
04/22WoodstockNYUpstate Films
04/22AthensOHThe Athena Cinema
04/22BurlingtonVTPalace 9
04/22Port OrchardWADragonfly Cinema
04/22VancouverWAKiggins Theatre
04/22San AntonioTXSantikos Bijou
04/22CamasWALiberty Theatre
04/22TacomaWAGrand Cinema
04/22, 4/27-5/3YorkPASmall Star Art House
04/22-04/26Lake WorthFLLake Worth Playhouse
04/24LewesDECinema Art Theater
04/27AkronOHNightlight Cinema
04/27HarrisburgPAMidtown Cinemas
04/27 & 29, 05/01 & 02BrunswickMEFrontier
04/27-05/03New YorkNYThe Landmark at 57 West
Director in attendance 4/27
04/27-05/03WilmetteILWilmette Theater
04/28LowellMALuna Theater
04/28VicksburgMSStrand Theatre
04/28PleasantvilleNYJacob Burns Film Center
Director in attendance
04/28-29AtlantaGAPlaza Theatre
04/29, 04/30, 05/02, 05/03, 05/06ColumbusOHGateway Film Center
Director in attendance
05/04-05/10Beverly HillsCALaemmle Music Hall
Director in attendance 5/4, 5/5 & 5/6
05/04-05/10ModestoCAState Theater
05/11AshburnVAAlamo Ashburn
Director in attendance
05/12CharlottesvilleVAAlamo Charlottesville
Director in attendance
05/12-13WinchesterVAAlamo Winchester
Director in attendance 05/13
05/15-05/19BoulderCOBoedecker Theater/Dairy
05/25-05/31San FranciscoCARoxie Theater
Director in attendance 5/26
05/25-05/31BerkeleyCARialto Cinemas® Elmwood
Director in attendance 5/25
05/25-05/31SebastopolCARialto Cinemas® Sebastopol
Director in attendance 5/27
05/27San RaphaelCASmith Rafael Film Center
Director in attendance 5/27
6/1, 6/3, 6/5, 6/6PortsmouthNHMusic Hall
6/8, 6/10, 6/12, 6/13EdmontonABMetro Cinema


Wisconsin Historical Society: Circuses Using Animals Belong in the History Books!

Circus World in Baraboo, Wisconsin, has a long history of hosting cruel and archaic live-animal acts. Since the government-run Wisconsin Historical Society recently took control of operations at the facility, it now has the perfect opportunity to relegate these animal acts to the history books.

Unfortunately, the society has refused even to acknowledge that animals endure suffering for the circus or discuss ending the use of animals in its shows. Join PETA in letting the Wisconsin Historical Society know that these cruel animal acts must go.
Carson & Barnes Circus, which supplies the elephants for these cruel acts, has an egregious record of mistreatment that includes more than 100 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, including while at Circus World, when it was cited for failing to show that it had provided a thin elephant who had visible hip bones and shoulder blades with veterinary care. Another elephant escaped from her confines last summer at Circus World and was found wandering through a residential neighborhood. Ryan Easley, who supplies the big cats for the act, was caught last year violently whipping tigers during training sessions—and one of them was whipped 31 times.
It's 2018—all decent people know by now that animals exist for their own reasons, not to be used as entertainment for humans. Speak up for animals now by urging the Wisconsin Historical Society to get with the times and end cruel, archaic animal acts!
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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is taking public comment through April 20th regarding state rules on elephant rides. 
FWC is reevaluating public safety issues, but has no current intent to ban elephant rides; ADI submitted scientific data and evidence of abuse, showing that regulation cannot “insure public safety” or protect the elephants. The elephants need you to CONTACT THE FWC TODAY – YOU HAVE UNTIL FRIDAY – this is not restricted to people from Florida, but let them know if you do live in the state. Will you share this to help spread the word?
Reach out to FWC by phone or email – Be polite and give them the facts there is no safe or humane elephant ride.
FL FWC Executive Director Eric Sutton (850) 487-3796

FL FWC Commissioners Rivard (Chair), Spottswood, Kellam, Lester, Nicklaus, Rood, and Sole at commissioners@myfwc.com 
Read the ADI comments here: http://bit.ly/2IEDOX0
Watch ADI’s No Fun for Elephants video here to see why we want to stop these rides: bit.ly/NoFunForElephants
Support ADI’s No Fun for Elephants campaign: http://bit.ly/Donate2ADI

Elephants’ undeniable air of dignity, wisdom and compassion, has led them to become one of the most revered animal species in the world. Few people who have watched members of an elephant herd interacting with one another in the wild or observed the loving bonds that they share could fail to be moved by them. In many ways, elephants’ emotional lives closely resemble ours. They, too, are closely bonded to their family members, never hesitate to help each other out during times of trouble, and grieve profoundly when a loved one dies.

Sadly, we humans don’t always treat them with the respect they deserve.

African elephants are a lucrative target for the illegal wildlife trade, where their ivory tusks can command huge prices. During the 1970s and 80s, African elephant numbers dropped by over half, from 1.3 million to 600,000. This led to an international ban on the commercial ivory trade in 1989, which helped the population to stabilize and recover. In 1997, however, a limited amount of stockpiled “antique” ivory was permitted to leave Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, which drove up demand for these products once again. Now, poachers kill one African elephant every fifteen minutes: the equivalent of 100 every day. Between 2012 and 2015 alone, over 103,000 elephants were killed for their ivory. Africa has now lost 60 percent of its elephant population, and experts fear that the species may soon be extinct unless serious action is taken to curb the ivory trade.

Asian elephants are also at risk of extinction thanks to extensive deforestation and habitat loss. The pygmy elephants of Indonesia, for example, are seriously threatened by the palm oil industry’s practice of burning down their forest homes to make way for palm plantations … and poisoning the elephants and other animals who stand in their way. Elsewhere on the continent, wild elephants are often taken away from their families and forced to work in the illegal logging and elephant tourism industries. A brutal training method known as “phajaan” – which involves confining the young elephant to tiny box and beating them until they learn to fear their captors enough to obey every command – is used to prepare the animals for their work in these industries.

As if all this weren’t bad enough, humans also have a bad habit of forcing elephants to perform in circuses or languish in zoos for the sake of our entertainment. Circus elephants are typically treated horrendously – beaten with whips or stabbed with bullhooks in an effort to make them perform inane tricks – while an estimated 40 percent of zoo elephants suffer from obesity, due to a lack of appropriate exercise and stimulation. In both cases, the elephants are deprived of the ability to exercise their natural instincts and experience the close family and herd bonds they would enjoy in the wild.

Clearly, we humans do not treat elephants with the respect they deserve. We could certainly do a lot better when it comes to our relationship with these majestic animals, as a new picture posted by elephant conservation group Elephantopia reveals.

The photograph, which was taken in Kafue Elephant Orphanage, Zambia, reveals what the relationship between our species and these majestic animals ought to look like.
Beautiful Image Reveals How the Connection Between Humans and Elephants Ought to Be
The human race as a whole has a long way to go before our relationship with elephants is based on a foundation of genuine love and respect. Luckily, there is hope that the ivory trade could be on its way out. Last year, an important agreement was reached between China and the U.S. – the two biggest consumers of ivory products in the world – to take tougher action on the ivory trade and help save Africa’s endangered elephants. The stories of resilient elephants who have survived poaching attempts, as well as those of the brave people who work around the clock to protect them, give us reason to believe that all is not lost after all. At the same time, raising awareness about the plight of elephants who are put to work for our entertainment is vital to ending their captivity once and for all.

For more information about the work of Elephantopia, check out their website or Facebook page.

Collaring elephants in one of Africa's last great wildernesses. A project in Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve aims to protect the majestic species from poaching
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Thanks to satellite collars, 60 elephants will be monitored for better protection against poaching in one of the last great African wildernesses, Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve. It’s an ambitious undertaking—the country’s largest ever elephant collaring effort—carried out by the Tanzanian government in collaboration with WWF.

Once an elephant stronghold, rampant poaching of elephants for ivory has decimated the population in Selous. In less than 40 years, elephant numbers in Selous have plunged by 90 percent to only around 15,200 animals today. The severity of elephant poaching in Selous, a World Heritage Site, moved UNESCO to place it on its List of World Heritage in Danger in 2014.
elephant collaring team tracks elephant
The elephant collaring team tracks an elephant in Selous Game Reserve. © Rob Beechey / WWF
data sheet on collared elephant
The team compiles a data sheet on the collared animal and collects elephant hair for DNA analysis. © Rob Beechey / WWF
Helping rangers guard the remaining elephants from poaching is an essential step in rebuilding the population. Satellite collars are a tried-and-tested tool for wildlife monitoring and will give rangers a leg up on poachers, allowing them to identify and respond to threats in real-time through mobile devices.

Data collected through these collars also helps predict where the animals are moving in order to anticipate any dangers they may encounter. This includes alerting neighboring communities when the animals are heading towards their settlement to reduce human-elephant conflict.
elephant collared in Selous
The elephant is sedated during the collaring and the team moves quickly. © Rob Beechey / WWF
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A collared elephant leaves to rejoin its herd. © Rob Beechey / WWF

“The collaring of elephants in Selous is critical to better protect them from poachers and retaliatory killings by communities because of human elephant conflict. In a landscape of this magnitude, we need this kind of technology to be better understand elephant movements,” said Bas Huijbregts, African species manager, WWF.

The first two elephants were collared last week at Mikumi National Park, and an additional 58 will be collared by November 2018.

Poachers kill between 20,000 and 30,000 African elephants each year for their tusks, primarily to satisfy the demand for ivory products in Asia. Anti-poaching efforts, like this collaring, are critical to elephant conservation, but only when we stop consumer demand for ivory will we ensure a future for this majestic species.
In Defense of Animals
The Sad Reality Behind Those Cute Baby Elephants at the Zoo. The Louisville Zoo in Kentucky recently announced that Mikki, a 32-year-old African elephant, is pregnant. What the Zoo did not share, however, is that this pregnancy was forced upon Mikki through repetitive, clumsy, and very invasive Artificial Insemination (AI) attempts. READ MORE

And last, we urgently need a portable, digital X-ray system for our elephants. The older machine we have lacks the imaging power to detect small fractures, especially hairline breaks. Such injuries can be deadly for our elephants, many of which are elderly and suffer from medical issues that can lead to falls. It is critical for them that our vets have the technology to make the most accurate diagnoses possible!

Here is a picture of Mohan receiving treatment:
A very generous anonymous donor has pledged to match donations up to $30,000 for this equipment! 

This is a wonderful opportunity that goes until the end of this Friday. Can you help us diagnose and potentially save the lives of our elephants?

You can learn more about the plight of elephants across the world, and how you can help, by reading the articles below.