Endangered Species Act (ESA), Elephant in the Room, Stardust Circus, Carson & Barnes Circus, Garden Bros. Circus, King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, Sustainable Action Network, Sunset TV

President Trump claimed over Twitter he would, "be very hard pressed to change" his mind that the "horror show" of trophy hunting, "in any way helps conservation of elephants or any other animal." After the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced it would resume importing bontebok, elephant and lion "trophies" from Africa, the President said nothing! Tell him to reinstate the ban on elephant, lion and bontebok trophy imports!

The Obama Administration had established rules banning the importation of animals covered by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) if the countries where the killing occurred could not prove a "conservation-by-death" value for those species. This ended the import of elephant and lion body parts by trophy hunters.

Safari Club International (SCI) and the National Rifle Association (NRA), the leading advocates for slaughtering wildlife, successfully sued to have the ban overturned by the United States Court of Appeals in December 2017 by arguing the Administrative Procedures Act had not been followed wherein the USFWS must publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register and solicit public comment before making decisions about whether trophy hunting in a particular country promotes the conservation of a species threatened with extinction.

After that court decision, USFWS allowed importations, but failed yet again to have a public comment period before coming to that decision.

President Trump can pretend all he wants that he doesn't like trophy hunting, but the fact of the matter is that he chose Ryan Zinke, a known trophy hunter, to head the Department of the Interior, which directly oversees USFWS policy.


Don't buy the lie. Tell President Trump that he must keep protections in place for elephants, lions and bontebok by telling his trophy hunting hire, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, to stop USFWS from issuing import permits because it failed to follow administrative procedures for rulemaking. Call and write President Trump today!


Elephants, lions and bontebok need calls made and emails sent to President Donald Trump asking him to stop USFWS from issuing permits for trophy imports.
1) Call President Trump at 202-456-1111 between 9 am to 4 pm ES. The White House switchboard operator will answer. Tell the operator you want to send a message to the President. You can say something like this:
I would like President Trump to please order Secretary of Interior Zinke to stop all elephant, bontebok, and lion trophy import permits and reinstate the ban. The USFWS has not followed administrative procedures that would allow me, as a citizen, to participate in the decision to import or not import elephants, bontebok, and lions killed by trophy hunters.

Thanks to Activist Pressure, Stardust Circus Drops Elephant Acts. Another cruel and archaic elephant circus act bites the dust—and we have dedicated animal rights activists to thank for it!
Asian elephant in the wild
© iStock.com/backpacker-79
On a social media post advertising upcoming shows, Stardust Circus announced that it had removed the elephant acts.

“Unfortunately activists make it very difficult to travel with animals today,” Stardust wrote, adding that it has stopped touring with elephants for now (We hope it’s the very last such tour that the circus will ever have).

Earlier this year, after learning from PETA and a local activist that several Stardust Circus shows were scheduled to bring elephants owned by the notoriously cruel Carson & Barnes Circus to Arkansas armories, the major general of that state’s National Guard immediately prohibited upcoming performances and implemented a policy banning future animal acts. The circus then had trouble keeping scheduled performances as it endured more cancellations the next month.

We’re all too familiar with these well-documented animal abusers. This isn’t the first time Stardust dropped an animal act after public outcry. Circus owner Oscar Garcia noted that after PETA protested a kangaroo boxing act, the traveling show nixed the ridiculous stunt.

The trainer who toured with Stardust, Habib Omar, is infamous in his own right: The Carson & Barnes employee has been filmed using a bullhook—a sharp steel-tipped weapon resembling a fireplace poker—to yank an elephant by the ear. And a whistleblower reported that the trainer would “warm up” the elephants with an electric prod—presumably so that there would be no visible marks from his abuse.



Elephants deserve better than chains around their legs & beatings from metal bullhooks.

Carson & Barnes has racked up more than 100 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act—including for failing to provide animals with basic necessities, such as adequate veterinary care, minimum space, shelter from the elements, and clean water. Just last year, in a scathing report, an expert veterinarian concluded that under the circus’ watch, elephants Libby and Bunny were “abused, injured, harmed, and harassed [as well as] suffering physically, in a state of psychological deterioration.”

Help Save Animals Imprisoned by Carson & Barnes Circus
Eliminating elephant acts didn’t save Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. If circuses want to prevent dwindling attendance and their ultimate demise, they’ll need to eliminate all animal acts.

While Stardust has dropped elephant acts, Garden Bros. Circus continues to exploit and abuse animals supplied by Carson & Barnes. With PETA’s help, contact vendors and urge them never to host a Garden Bros. elephant act. We’ve defeated animal exploiters at this game before, and with your voice, we can do it again!

URGENT: Help Elephants Beaten With Bullhooks for Thailand's King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament. An eyewitness PETA Asia investigation has revealed that elephants are repeatedly struck and gouged with bullhooks—sharp steel-tipped weapons resembling a fireplace poker—and their ears are violently yanked in training for the cruel King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament in Thailand. One mahout (handler) can be seen hitting an elephant on the head approximately 15 times, and blood appears to be visible.
The only way to make elephants tolerate having humans riding around on their backs for polo games or any other reason is to "break" them first. They're chained or otherwise immobilized and beaten relentlessly with bullhooks or other weapons in a process that can last days or even weeks.

Elephants used for polo, rides, shows, and other forms of entertainment suffer tremendously. When not performing, they're typically deprived of everything that's natural and important to them, including the opportunity to walk freely, as they're kept cruelly shackled.

Tourism company Tiger Tops, the organizer of the International Elephant Polo Competition, recently announced that it would stop hosting the event in order to take a stand against cruelty to animals. In 2011, London-based Guinness World Records Ltd. removed all references to elephant polo from the Guinness World Records books because of the abuse that elephants endure for these events. And following discussions with PETA India, Carlsberg Group withdrew its sponsorship of the Polo Cup.Please urge IBM, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Benihana of Tokyo, Banfi, Diversey, and INVNT to stop supporting the King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament—then share this alert with everyone you know.

Tell Venues That Garden Bros. Circus Needs to Drop Its Cruel Animal Acts! Garden Bros. Circus—along with its cruel elephant act provided by Carson & Barnes Circus—is scheduled to perform at locations across the southern U.S., and we need your help to let the venues planning to host it know about these exhibitors' histories of animal abuse.
elephants forced to perform
Carson & Barnes' head trainer was caught on video viciously attacking elephants with a bullhook (a sharp steel-tipped weapon resembling a fireplace poker) and shocking them with electric prods as they screamed in pain. A former Garden Bros. employee recently described frequently seeing elephants with blood dripping from behind their ears and reported that a Carson & Barnes trainer would "warm up" the elephants by jabbing them with a bullhook or by shocking them with a Taser. The whistleblower also reported that a camel used by Garden Bros. was kicked and punched and others were whipped. Earlier, another whistleblower reported that Zachary Garden, the manager of Garden Bros., habitually beat animals, withheld food from them, and refused to provide injured and dying ones with adequate veterinary care.
elephants tortured with bullhook
Other venues and localities have canceled scheduled performances by Garden Bros., refused to issue it permits because of safety concerns, and barred it from performing with wild animals. Please ask venues still planning to host this cruel circus to consider these facts carefully and at least require that scheduled performances go forward without animals.

Urge Carson & Barnes Circus to End All Cruel Animal Acts!
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is shutting down, and Cole Bros. Circus—which used animals from Carson & Barnes Circus for a long time—is no longer touring, but Carson & Barnes is still forcing animals to perform confusing, often painful tricks. Please join PETA in urging the circus to join the 21st century by eliminating all animal acts and sending the long-suffering animals to reputable sanctuaries.

Carson & Barnes has been cited for more than 100 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act—including for failing to provide animals with basic necessities, such as adequate veterinary care, minimum space, shelter from the elements, and clean water. Video footage of a veteran Carson & Barnes trainer shows him violently striking elephants with a bullhook—a sharp steel-tipped weapon resembling a fireplace poker—and shocking them with an electric prod. This circus also has an abysmal record of endangering the public. In 2016, it agreed to pay $16,000 to settle an administrative enforcement action brought by the U.S. Department of Agriculture after three elephants became frightened, escaped from a circus performance, and ran amok for nearly an hour—causing damage to the venue and cars in the parking lot.

Please tell Carson & Barnes Circus to end its cruel animal acts and send the animals to reputable sanctuaries, highlighting the circus's human talent instead.