ALDF; A Truck Stop is No Place for a Tiger! Why We Won’t Stop Fighting for Tony

Stephen Wells, ALDF
April 21, 2017

At this moment a 16-year-old Siberian-Bengal tiger named Tony is caged at a gas station truck stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana, 20 miles outside of Baton Rouge. Confined to a cramped metal cage, Tony breathes in diesel fumes daily while passersby tease and harass him. Tony has lived this way for nearly his entire life, and his circumstances are often a shock to the average person, who feels innately that this is not the right place for a tiger, especially an ageing one with neglected veterinary needs. People ask, “how can this be legal?” and the Animal Legal Defense Fund believes firmly that it’s not. In fact, we’ve been fighting for over six years to have Tony relocated to a sanctuary that can meet his complex needs and give him the veterinary care he is entitled to. Our campaign to save Tony is now even more dire after reports raising concerns about Tony’s health.

Let Tony Live the Rest of His Days in Comfort

All across the world, people follow Tony’s story. Recently, we’ve received many reports from worried citizens stating that Tony appears lethargic and is experiencing diarrhoea and a decreased appetite. The Animal Legal Defense Fund obtained photo and video evidence and enlisted the help of a veterinarian with experience treating exotic animals to review it. In the vet’s expert opinion, Tony is likely suffering from kyphosis of the spine and an injury or other condition that is causing him to limp. This isn’t run-of-the-mill ageing; Tony needs help. Living at a truck stop is, at the least, exacerbating Tony’s poor health. While no animal is suited to living at a truck stop, tigers are particularly ill-equipped because of their sharp sense of smell and sensitive hearing. Independent of all our pending legal work to free Tony, the Animal Legal Defense Fund just submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which licenses the Truck Stop under the federal Animal Welfare Act, urging that Tony be inspected by a licensed specialist and given any necessary veterinary care.

The Legal Battle for Tony’s Safety

We believe that Tony, and all big cats held in captivity, deserve to live in environments that meet their psychological and physical needs. Our campaign to remove Tony from his particularly grim captivity at Tiger Truck Stop has been lengthy and determined. Michael Sandlin, the owner of the truck stop, however, has pulled out all the stops to keep Tony in captivity.  He has spent over $750,000 fighting our efforts and has also manipulated the legislative system by successfully lobbying the Louisiana legislature to pass a special exemption designed solely to benefit Sandlin and allow him to keep Tony. It’s no surprise that Sandlin puts up such a fight; he’s been exploiting tigers like Tony for decades, using them as a gimmick to lure customers to his gas station. The USDA has cited Sandlin numerous times for violations ranging from failure to provide veterinary care to lack of clean drinking water. In 2003, Sandlin relinquished three tigers amid public outrage over his treatment of the big cats. Only Tony remains.

Inspired in part by Tony’s plight, then Representative Warren Triche, Jr. introduced legislation in 2006 to ban private possession of big cats in Louisiana. The law passed, and while it was a tremendous win for the big cats saved from being the next Tony, Sandlin continued to hold Tony in violation of the law. The Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for unlawfully issuing Sandlin a permit to exhibit Tony. We were joined in the suit by former Rep. Triche, Jr. and several other Louisiana taxpayers. Both the trial court and the Louisiana Court of Appeal held that Sandlin and the Tiger Truck Stop were ineligible for a big cat permit and could no longer keep Tony captive. In October 2013, the Louisiana Supreme Court let that decision stand. Still, Tony remained at the truck stop.

Despite the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s victory, which should have freed Tony and allowed him to be moved to a sanctuary, Sandlin has been able to keep Tony in captivity because of two legal tactics that he has pursued relentlessly.

First, after the trial court ruled against Sandlin and while his appeal was pending, he filed a separate lawsuit challenging the big cat ban as unconstitutional.  The Animal Legal Defense Fund, along with concerned Louisiana citizens, promptly filed a petition to intervene in that action to defend the constitutionality of the big cat ban.  Both the State of Louisiana and the Animal Legal Defense Fund argued Sandlin’s claims were barred because he failed to raise them in the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s prior action.  Those arguments are still pending today, nearly five years later.

Second, Sandlin manipulated the legislative system by successfully lobbying the Louisiana legislature to pass Act 697, a special law designed to exempt Sandlin – and only Sandlin – from the big cat ban. It was signed into law by then Governor Jindal. The Animal Legal Defense Fund again immediately went to work, suing the state of Louisiana and arguing Act 697 violated the Louisiana Constitution because it was a “special law” designed to benefit one individual from existing state public safety and animal welfare laws. We were again joined in the suit by former Rep. Triche Jr. and other concerned Louisiana citizens.

We’re Not Giving Up

The Animal Legal Defense Fund recently combined its challenges to both of Sandlin’s legal tactics into the same action, filing an amended petition in intervention in Sandlin’s lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the big cat ban.  This will allow the Animal Legal Defense Fund — in one motion — to raise arguments both challenging the constitutionality of Act 697’s exemption for Tony and explain why Sandlin’s challenges to the big cat ban itself should fail.  A ruling in favour of the Animal Legal Defense Fund on such a motion should finally put an end to Sandlin’s legal tactics and provide a final resolution allowing Tony to be relocated to a sanctuary.

As the world watches the ups and downs of the fight to save Tony, the tiger’s life remains essentially the same. He doesn’t know his story inspired a former Representative to come out of retirement to fight for him, or that the big cat ban will help others of his kind. All he knows is life in a cramped cage off the highway. Tony deserves the veterinary care he needs and to live out the rest of his life in peace. He doesn’t just deserve it, we believe he’s guaranteed it under the law. We won’t stop until Tony is safe

News source:–http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/we-wont-stop-fighting-for-tony-the-truck-stop-tiger/

 

What’s Behind The Monastery; with over 100 tigers?

June 5, 2016 1:00 am

Find out what’s behind the monastery with over 100 tigers? Find out more about the controversy…

Official name: Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno

Location: Moo 5, Tambon Sing, Sai Yok district, Kanchanaburi province

Allegations: It is accused of illegal possession of wild animals and illegal trade in wildlife.

A probe will soon be launched on whether it legitimately acquired its 2,000 rai block of land.

Background: In 2001, it had seven tigers.

: In 2015, officials found 147 tigers in its compound and embedded these big cats with microchips so they could be tracked.

: In 2016, officials started moving tigers out of the temple.

Shocking Discoveries: During the operation to search and catch tigers for relocation, officials found the bodies of 40 tiger cubs in jars, plus frozen tiger carcasses, tiger skins, tiger amulets, engraved tiger fangs and stickers about antler herbs and food supplements made of tiger bodies. The body of a binturong, antlers and parts of various other animals were also found in the compound.

News Link:http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Whats-behind-the-monastery-with-over-100-tigers-30287353.html

Graphic Video: California Towns Ban Bullhooks For Elephants

 “Seriously, if you were caught using a bullhook, stick or broom etc. on a dog, cat or horse etc. whipping or poking it until it bleeds; I’m sure, you would be charged with animal abuse; & quite rightly so! These bullhooks are used to control elephants; via pain, just as various other weapons are used for the rest of the circus animals! Elephants may have thick skin, but did you know they can feel a fly land on them?? So how do you think a bullhook feels to an elephant when it’s used aggressively by an impatient trainer or handlers mucking out stalls etc. I bet it hurts like hell! Bullhooks are used to keep circus elephants in check, by tugging on sensitive parts of the elephant like their ear’s & gouging at their legs to make them perform unnatural tricks for the paying audience! Elephants were not made to entertain humans, which is why they are forced by the bullhook & electric prods (verified on undercover surveillance) to entertain! How else would one get an elephant to lift off front or rear feet, walk around a big ball with one foot on it, the other turning it, or how about getting them to do a handstand; using their trunks as a balancing aid? I’m pretty sure they don’t conform to words alone, or snacks! These elephants are performing stunts in such a way as they would never, in the wild; their bodies are simply not made to do balancing acts, it’s so unnatural for them to even consider doing tricks…but a bullhook used by a human, aimed at the right place, makes it much easier to get the job done, by causing pain. They’re not dogs who can learn a trick within half an hour using treats alone. Plus the tricks elephants are forced to do; adds injuries to their ailments later in life!!!

“Those that intentionally inflict pain & suffering & enjoy carrying out their sickening hold on animals, are not worthy of being called animal trainers or handlers etc.; they are good for one thing; picking up the mess after said animal has been to the toilet!! If they can yank an elephant round, how do the treat their family pets? They shouldn’t be or in the care of any animal; if they don’t mind whacking an elephant around its body, for simply getting a verbal command right!! Torture devices can be used right under the noses of the people, paying to watch the elephants or other animals at the circus; paying customers have no idea the animals are suffering; whilst performing ridiculous tricks! Innocent looking walking sticks can be used to enforce pain, yet they look totally harmless to the distanced crowd! However, they are anything but innocent, a simple walking stick can be turned into a torture device used on any animals whilst performing etc. Props like this can have spiked nails in one end that the trainers uses to control the animals! Those watching the performance wouldn’t be able to see nails in sticks etc…they are simply too far away; but it still looks so innocent to those watching!”

“To be honest I’m astounded that more elephants haven’t attacked, killed their trainers or gone on a rampage; like several have over the years, due to the constant abuse from humans carrying  bullhooks or other items, such as a walking cane, filled with spiked nails, that when touched, cause pain etc! Could it be that elephants who were caught in the wild, remember the heartache of being taken from family & the torture chamber called the Phajaan? I’m sure those that were caught wild will never ever forget the pain of being taken from its mother & family! But it’s the Phajaan, the poor little elephant will remember forever, because that was home where he was a victim to horrendous abuse! The Phajaan is where all wild caught small elephants are horrifically tortured daily; used for one reason other than a horror chamber…it breaks the spirit of the elephant!

 Once they are in the Phajaan they can’t turn or even lay down; heavy duty rope or chains cause terrible suffering & injuries! Each foot is tied down so tightly to stop them having any chance of hurting the people who are torturing them. Rope is tied around the neck & body so there is no way they can escape! Food & water is used as a training tool too (it still is being used today) the elephants get neither if they haven’t complied with the human commands being barked at them all day for weeks or months! The elephant will stay tied in the phajaan, being whipped, poked & prodded daily to the point of bleeding from  wounds!! It stops, only when & depending on how quickly the humans can break the little elephants spirit! That is what the phajaan is made for…to literally break the elephant down, both physically & mentally, until it has no fight left in it & the elephant starts to obey the human commands!! Captured young, these elephants have to be submissive before they can be trained for log work or to be sent somewhere to be trained as a circus elephant! Nobody will pay for an elephant if it will not obey human commands. The Phajaan is used as a medieval cage of wood & it succeeds in breaking the most hardened spirit of an elephant…over time the elephant just won’t be able to stand the beatings or go on without water or food; he must submit to stop the pain & he realises; he is now a slave to humans!”

“I have a theory about why most captured elephants try not to retaliate after a beating with a bullhook etc. They say elephants have fantastic memories…well perhaps it’s the thought of being taken back to that torture chamber, where the elephants endured terrible suffering & beatings…in the Phajaan; at the hands of humans!! The horror of that place must be tattooed in the memory of every elephant that suffered there. The elephants don’t understand they will never return to that horrible place if they don’t conform. The Phajaan & the humans, who mentally & physically broke them using such weapons like the bullhooks, will stay with the elephants forever! They may be in a different place, but it is still the humans who control them! Do the elephants even know their own power & strength against humans; probably not, because it was forced out of them in the Phajaan? They only know that humans are the leaders & with their torture tools, can still physically beat & hurt the elephants, if they don’t comply!!”

“Could fear alone stop the elephants from causing harm to their trainers or owners, after all, thats all the elephants know about humans; how much pain they can cause! When they are shipped off to do other work, where all elephants know of humans is they are to be feared & must be obeyed in order not to receive punishment, I wonder if the new elephant looks at the other elephants old wounds & realises; that they too came through the same cruel path!  So do they actually behave & perform out of fear? Fear of going back to the Phajaan perhaps ensures most elephants comply! What do you think?”

“Please watch the video below, to help understand what elephants endure through life. A circus elephant could have come through the same route; tortured & abused in the Phajaan, their spirits forever broken at the hands of humans!”

By Kristin J. Bender Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. — The circus will stop coming to Oakland in a few years after a tool used by elephant handlers was banned in the city.

The Oakland City Council earlier this week unanimously approved an ordinance outlawing bullhooks. The instrument resembles a fireplace poker, with a sharp hook on one end that is used by trainers to control the animals. 

Tom Rider, a former circus elephant trainer, shows a bullhook that is used by elephant trainers. The Oakland, Calif., City Council earlier this week unanimously approved an ordinance outlawing bullhooks, an instrument resembling a fireplace poker with a sharp hook on one end that is used by trainers to control the animals. Oakland is now the second city in California, after Los Angeles, to ban the use of a bullhooks. File photo

Oakland is now the second California city, after Los Angeles, to ban the use of a bullhooks. The circus will stop performing in Los Angeles in summer 2016. The Oakland ban takes effect in 2017.

“(That) will be the last time we will be in Oakland because we can’t perform without the elephants,” said Stephen Payne, spokesman for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

But the circus is still holding out hope about having future performances in Oakland. “We may see if the Oakland City Council wants to reconsider,” he said. Payne said the move is a loss for people who enjoy the circus. An estimated 30,000 people attended the Oakland circus over six days last summer, he said.

“Please Note Viewer Discretion advised! “Breaking the spirit of a young wild elephant” to be used to pull logs, work in the tourist industry or sold onto circuses”

“To Truly understand how an elephant’s spirit is broken & make them afraid of man…you really should watch this video”

Published on 8 Mar 2012

Here are the images of the training of wild elephants that are caught for the tourist trade. Please remind yourself and tell others that by visiting elephant camps you are supporting this!

The Oakland Zoo and animal rights activists supported the ordinance, saying bullhooks are cruel and inhumane. Other U.S. cities to ban bullhooks include Miami Beach, Florida.

Proponents say the tool is designed to give trainers dominance over elephants and does not hurt or harm the animal. “A lot of the information that was presented to the Oakland City Council by the proponents was designed to distort our animal care,” Payne said.

Oakland Zoo Chief Executive Officer Joel Parrott said the practice hearkens back to the turn of the 20th century and has no place in modern times.

“If I suggested using a bullhook on giraffes to get them through gates or to stab tigers to get them to do what I want them to do, everybody would react,” Parrott said. “The only reason it’s acceptable is we’ve grown used to it with the elephants.”

News Link:-http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20141219/business/141218357/

“Quote links below; read the & find out something you never knew about elephants”         

                                                                                                     The Sense of Touch

Despite its thickness, an elephant’s skin is very sensitive, to the point where it can feel a fly land on its back. Surprisingly, it is also sensitive to the sun, and baby elephants are even known to sunburn. The species’ notorious love for mud and baths helps alleviate both of these problems.

If you liked this article and the Bonus Facts below, you might also enjoy:

• Do Elephants Really Have Exceptional Memories?
• The Elephant Condemned to Death by Hanging
• 12 Interesting Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Rhinoceroses
• How the Sun Burns Your Skin and How Sunscreen Prevents This
• Why Skin Wrinkles in Water

Bonus Elephant Facts

• Elephants can be either “right-handed” or “left-handed,” and this is often shown by greater wear on one tusk as opposed to the other. Dogs and Cats are also often right or left “handed”.
• Unlike the rhinoceros, whose horn is made of hair-like keratin, elephant tusks are actually overgrown incisors. Incredibly long, at least one-third of an elephant’s tusk is inside the animal’s head, outside of view. The outside, ivory part of the tusk is, like its other teeth, comprised of dentine surrounded by a layer of enamel. An elephant’s tusks never stop growing.
• The heaviest tusks recorded weigh about 220 pounds per tusk, while the longest ever discovered were 11 feet long! Tusks today are generally much smaller due to the ivory trade and poaching keeping them from reaching such mammoth sizes.
• In a rare example of unanimity, the whole world banned the trade in ivory in 1989 with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In the decade preceding the agreement, more than half of Africa’s elephants had been killed in order to harvest the ivory, and today, poaching continues. In fact, in 2011, only a portion of the largest seizures collected found in excess of 50 thousand pounds of poached ivory. To combat this, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had proposed regulations in February 2014 that would have placed “a near-total ban on anything made with ivory moving in and out of the U.S.” However, the sweeping regulation had many concerned that it would inhibit the transportation of “old ivory,” such as that found in antique pieces of art and musical instruments. After a public outcry, particularly from concert musicians who often need to travel with their antique, ivory-fitted instruments to perform, FWS carved out an exception in May 2014.
• Today there are somewhere between 400,000 and 600,000 African elephants remaining, and, unless things change, they are predicted to become locally extinct within 50 years

News Link with more interesting facts about elephants:–http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/07/skin-african-elephant/

Refuse to buy the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus stamp; sign petition

Please sign this petition:

 Stop US post office circus stamps – don’t celebrate elephant abuse!

Please, everyone, sign this petition!!!!!

 

Go to your local Post Office, any facility that sells stamps. Refuse to buy the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus stamps !!!!  Tell them to stop advertising these stamps!!!!…..The brutality the Wild Animals in the Circus suffer from is not a joyous event!!!  Wake up people!!!!   Stop the abuse happening under “THE BIG TOPS“…..You can make it possible for these magnificent beings to live a life without being beaten into doing the stupid insulting tricks they are forced to do. None of the Wild Animals do these circus routines in the wild!!!!

Nor do they do them when not in the ring!!!! These animals are living a life of cruel and unusual punishment. When not in the ring they are chained or in small cages . This is animal abuse solely for financial gain for humans. The Cirque du Soleil is magnificent, uses no wild animals and the acrobats LOVE doing the aerobatics, it is their lifetime careers……There is never a need for wild animals to suffer. Do not buy the circus stamps!!!  And PLEASE, do not attend THE BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS or any circus where wild animals are being exploited, and they all are!!!!!!

 

Thank you so much…you’re voice is important…..PLEASE USE IT!!!

 

 

 

 

Tippi Hedren

President The Roar Foundation
The Shambala Preserve

www.shambala.org

Tippi Hedren and The Roar Foundation (kathy@shambala.org)

 

21/08/2014

Related articles

• Ringling Brothers and Barnam and Bailey Circus: The Cruelest Show on Earth! (onegreenplanet.org)
• Why It’s No Fun To be a Circus Elephant (onegreenplanet.org)

Video: China Ivory Crackdown Welcomed

CHINA has destroyed more than six tonnes of illegal ivory, in a move welcomed as an important signal the country backs action to stop elephant poaching.

China has destroyed six tonnes of illegal ivory in a move to stop elephant poaching. Source: AAP

The ivory, which is sought-after in China for making ornaments, was seized from the illegal trade and has been crushed into powder by the Chinese government.

Conservationists say China is the world’s largest consumer of trafficked ivory, most of which comes from elephants killed in Africa, and the move sends a signal of the government’s commitment to tackling the problem.

Destruction of the ivory, from more than 600 dead elephants, comes just weeks after eight Chinese citizens were convicted and sentenced to between three and 15 years imprisonment for smuggling some 3.2 tonnes of ivory.

“The destruction of seized ivory makes an important public statement that, in conjunction with other government-led efforts to reduce demand, has the potential to have a significant impact on the illegal market for ivory,” said Tom Milliken, from Wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic.

Image comment: China will destroy ivory stockpile on January 6, 2014 Image credits: The Telegraph

“China’s actions, more than those of any other country, have the potential to reverse the rising trends of elephant poaching and illegal ivory trafficking.”

China has a legal ivory market based on stocks that pre-date a global ban on ivory trade imposed in 1989, and on stocks which were part of a legal “one-off” sale from four African countries in 2008, but the seized ivory cannot be be used for commercial purposes under international rules.

Gabon, the Philippines and the United States have all recently destroyed stockpiles of ivory 

Video & News Link:-http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/world/china-ivory-crackdown-welcomed/story-fnjbnxol-1226796201437

GRAPHIC CONTENT: ‘A gruesome, medieval scene’: Shocking images reveal Japanese fleet is slaughtering whales INSIDE an international sanctuary

• Campaigners say they spotted vessels in Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
• Images of whale carcasses on bloodied ship deck captured from a helicopter
• Another minke whale was being butchered on board, says Sea Shepherd
• Commercial whale hunting outlawed in 1994

Japanese whaling vessels allowed ‘for research purposes’

Sea Shepherd said they had spotted the Japanese fleet today and captured evidence that four whales had been slaughtered, alleging the ships were found inside the sanctuary
MURDERERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Militant anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd says it spotted the Nisshin Maru sailing through the protected Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary during the annual whaling season.

As the Sea Shepherd’s helicopter flew above the Japanese ship, campaigners shot footage of the blood-streaked deck and the carcasses of three dead minke whales lying on the ship as another creature was butchered.

This photograph of three dead minke whales was taken by anti-whaling campaigners after they allegedly caught the Japanese vessel inside an internationally-recognised sanctuary. MURDERERS!!!!!

Sea Shepherd said it had spotted the Japanese fleet yesterday and captured evidence that four whales had been slaughtered this morning, alleging the ships were found inside the sanctuary.

Campaigners said they had located all five Japanese vessels and were now in pursuit, forcing the harpooners to cut short their operation and retreat.

Sea Shepherd said that another whale, also believed to be a minke, was being butchered on board. MURDERING BXXXXXD’S

‘That’s just a gruesome, bloody, medieval scene which has no place in this modern world.’

When the Nisshin Maru was first spotted from the air, Dr Brown said it was in Antarctica’s Ross Dependency, within New Zealand’s territorial waters and the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, which he described as a ‘gross breach of international law’.

The commercial hunting of whales is prohibited in the sanctuary, which was designated by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1994, but Japan catches the animals there under a ‘scientific research’ loophole in the moratorium on whaling.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully denied whaling was taking place within his country’s maritime jurisdiction, saying the site was considered international waters, as he condemned the ‘pointless and offensive’ practice.

Peter Hammarstedt, captain of the Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker, said Japan had shown ‘flagrant disregard for international law’ by continuing whaling

‘The New Zealand government has repeatedly called on Japan to end its whaling programme. We reiterate this message today,’ he said.

‘There is nothing scientific about this, it is butchery,’ Mr Brown said.

‘The one thing that’s missing here is gumption – a bit of spine in Canberra and in Wellington to put an end to it.’

Australia has taken Japan to the International Court of Justice seeking to have its research whaling programme declared illegal, with a ruling due this year.

Peter Hammarstedt, captain of the Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker, said Japan had shown ‘flagrant disregard for international law by continuing their illegal whale hunt while the world patiently awaits a decision from the International Court of Justice’.

Japan’s fisheries agency said its programme was being conducted ‘in line with a research plan submitted to the IWC’

Sea Shepherd left Australia for their 10th annual harassment campaign of the Japanese fleet last month, sending three ships to tail and run interference against the harpooners.

High-seas clashes between the two groups are common, resulting in the 2010 sinking of the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil.

Australia will be monitoring confrontations between the pair from a government jet which is due to fly surveillance missions over the Southern Ocean between January and March.

However, Dr Brown said there had so far been no sign of the aircraft.

News Link:-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2534478/Graphic-images-Japans-whaling-released-campaigners-Sea-Shepherd.html

Graphic whaling footage Sea Shepherd releases footage of whales being killed

Published on 6 Jan 2014

Graphic whaling footage: Sea Shepherd releases footage of whales … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nS3-Qnc0N0…‎T­raduzir esta página 3 horas atrás – Graphic whaling footage: Sea Shepherd releases footage of whales being killed. ITN ·10,626 videos.

Some Petitions to sign & Sea Shepherd support:– http://www.seashepherd.org/get-involved/

• https://www.causes.com/actions/1721564-to-stop-the-japanese-whale-hunt-for-good
• http://www.unleashed.org.au/take_action/petitions/stop-japanese-whaling/
• https://www.causes.com/campaigns/12092-stop-the-japanese-whale-hunt-for-good-we-need-whales
• http://savejapandolphins.org/
• http://forcechange.com/67673/stop-japans-commercial-whaling/
• http://www.avaaz.org/en/whales_last_push/

TAIJI TRAGEDY CONTINUES: Dolphins continue to die!

December 21, 2013 by Ric O’Barry, Earth Island Institute

By Ric O’Barry
Director
Dolphin Project
Earth Island Institute

I’ve been in Taiji since last week, working closely with Sakura and other Japanese activists who are visiting.  My friend Satoshi, head of Flippers Japan, is coming to visit here soon.

TAIJI TRAGEDY CONTINUES

The good news is that there is a growing movement of Japanese animal rights activists who agree with us that the dolphin hunts in Taiji are cruel and should end.  They are conducting demonstrations in Tokyo and coming to Taiji to see the dolphin hunts for themselves.

Sakura has been posting updates from Taiji for the past three months in both Japanese and English (including on our Dolphin Project Facebook Page).

She is really dedicated, talking to every Japanese tourist who comes to visit Taiji about the dolphin hunts.  We wish we could clone her!

All this activity in Japan gives me hope for the future.

I need hope right now.  The dolphin hunts here are still very ghastly and would make anyone sick.

Risso’s dolphins in the Cove from a drive hunt on Friday in Taiji. These beautiful animals were all killed. Photo by Sakura Araki.

Some other good news:  the dolphin killers have announced they will be stopping hunts on their annual end-of-year break, from Dec. 24th through January 4th.

So at least some dolphins and whales will get a respite for the holidays.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, too.  We cannot give up our efforts to stop the dolphin hunts here in Taiji and throughout Japan.

We should draw strength from our progress so far – we have accomplished quite a bit since 2003 when I first saw the dolphin hunts in Taiji for myself.

The Earth Island Dolphin Project Team and I will continue the effort for as long as it takes.  I can guarantee to you that we will not give up!

If you would like to help us with a donation, that would be great!

Dead Risso’s dolphins being transferred from the killing grounds of the Cove to the slaughterhouse in Taiji harbor. Photo by Sakura Araki.

If you are helping us with your volunteer work and spreading the word, my deepest thanks.

Take care and happy holidays to you and yours from all of us at Earth Island Institute and the Dolphin Project!

Photos of recent Risso’s dolphin hunt in Taiji by Sakura Araki.

News Link:–http://savejapandolphins.org/blog/post/taiji-tragedy-continues

 Not Belong in Captivity!

ORCAS AND DOLPHINS DO NOT BELONG IN CAPTIVITY!
Orcas and Dolphins Do Not Belong in Captivity!

The recent documentaries Blackfish and The Cove show that putting dolphins and orcas in captivity is unethical and cruel, ripping them from their families that they would normally grow up with and depriving them of the freedom of the open ocean, instead confining them to small concrete tanks to do tricks for dead fish.

 MAKE A DONATION TO HELP KEEP THE CAMPAIGN GOING

DONATE HERE to our efforts to STOP the SLAUGHTER/TRADE/and DISPLAY OF DOLPHINS AND WHALES IN CAPTIVITY.

WATCH OUR NEW “RELEASE ME” VIDEO AND SPREAD THE WORD TO FRIENDS

https://vimeo.com/77548465

Release Me :15 DolphinProject.org PSA from Dolphin Project on Vimeo.

DolphinProject.org “Release Me” :15 PSA

Director Lincoln O’Barry
Editor: Tracy Hof
Post: MPC LA
Song: Release Me
Special thanks to the amazing Frida Ohrn on vocals
Oh Laura
ITunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/oh-laura/id254454772
Cosmos Music Group
Warner/Chappell

Special Thanks to Elexis Stern at MPC LA

Help us spread the word so that millions of people can see this video and get involved. PLEASE SHARE THIS LINK.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Dolphins have evolved over millions of years, adapting perfectly to life in the ocean. They are intelligent, social and self-aware, exhibiting evidence of a highly developed emotional sense. Here are just a few of the issues with captivity:

Captures of dolphins are traumatic and stressful and can result in injury and death of dolphins. The numbers of dolphins that die during capture operations or shortly thereafter are never revealed in dolphinariums or swim-with-dolphins programs. Some facilities even claim their dolphins were “rescued” from the ocean and cannot be released. This claim is almost invariably false.

Training of dolphins is often deliberately misrepresented by the captive dolphin industry to make it look as if dolphins perform because they like it. This isn’t the case. They are performing because they have been deprived of food.

Most captive dolphins are confined in minuscule tanks containing chemically treated artificial seawater. Dolphins in a tank are severely restricted in using their highly developed sonar, which is one of the most damaging aspects of captivity. It is much like forcing a person to live in a hall of mirrors for the rest of their life – their image always bouncing back with no clear direction in sight.

Dolphins and whales have been shown by recent scientific research to be sensitive with likely more ranges of emotions than humans, with culture that is handed down through generations, and personal names.  They deserve our respect and the right to remain in the wild, free from harassment and harm.

Earth Island Institute’s campaign to protect dolphins and whales focuses on stopping the killing of these animals in the wild in places like Japan, Indonesia, the Faroe Islands and the Solomon Islands, as well as stopping the blood dolphin$ trade to dolphinariums around the world.  In fact, these dolphin hunts are often supported by the dolphin trade to catch some individuals for captivity, while the remainder are slaughtered.

Click here to see a list of Captive Dolphin Facilities that have been Closed or Never Opened.

These success stories were accomplished by people like you taking action and stopping all support of dolphin shows and all swim-with-dolphin facilities.

WRITE A LETTER to Your Local Newspaper.  Click HERE for a sample.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD – Let your friends, family, school mates, and service club members know about the problem of keeping whales and dolphins in captivity.

For Further Information:

A great Editorial from the Los Angeles Times opposing captivity.

Ken Brower’s excellent Blackfish Review for National Geographic.

With the annual Taiji, Japan, dolphin hunt starting in September,Georgia Woodroffe goes into detail about the horrors facing whales and dolphins.

Earth Island Dolphin Project Blogs:

India Ban on Captivity

Korean Dolphin Release Success

Beluga Import Permit Denied

Empty the Tanks Demonstration in Vallejo

Don’t do Dolphin-Assisted Therapy

One Thousand Protesters at Marineland, Canada

Birth of Orca in SeaWorld Nothing to Celebrate

WAZA Could Stop the Slaughter

One Sad Orca

Follow the Money: Captivity and Dolphin Slaughter

Taiji Whale Museum: Dolphin Traffickers

The Problem with Captivity

Tilikum in a scene from BLACKFISH, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Photo credit: Gabriela Cowperthwaite.

Video And 43 Petitions To Sign To End The War Against Wolves

“The current assault against wolves in the wild, through hunting, trapping, poisoning dens, etc. is unnecessary and an indictment on the American People if we continue to look the other way. We must put an end to this unprovoked and inhumane slaughter. Please help by signing as many petitions as you can”

Louise du Toit – Ode to the Wolves – Wolf Paintings by Vincent A Kennard

 

Uploaded on 9 Sep 2010

Louise du Toit – CD Albums @http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Louisedu…
Louise du Toit – Official Website @ http://www.louisedutoit.com

“Ode to the Wolves” is an artistic tribute to all wolves, written to raise awareness about the endless atrocities they endure from humans all over the world, with a positive message to support the plight of the wolves and to end their suffering. 

The music and lyrics of “Ode to the Wolves” were written by Louise du Toit and the paintings in the video were done by fierce wolf protector, author and artist, Vincent Arthur Kennard, with the purpose of accompanying the song. 

Bringing Wolves Back! 43 Petitions.  Please TAKE ACTION!

Wolf Caught In Leg Hold Trap

My apologies if any have ended before I get this posted!

1.Wolves in the Lower-48 States Need Your Help

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/keep-esa-protections/?source=search

2.Relist Wolves to the Endangered Species Act

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/relist-wolves-to-the/?source=search

3.Gray Wolves Need Your Help Today TAKE ACTION!!!!

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/gray-wolves-need-your/?source=search

4.Please protect our wolves from animal cruelty

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/please-protect-our-wolves/?source=search

5.Secretary Jewell: Finish the Job on Wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/secretary-jewell-finish/?source=search

6.Relist Wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/relist-wolves/?source=search

7.Relist Wolves to the Endangered Species Act

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/relist-wolves-to-the/?source=search

8.Fewer than 100 Wild Red Wolves Remain in the World

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/fewer-than-100-wild-red-1/?source=search

9.Stop The Delisting Of Endangered Wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/take-action-endangered/?source=search

10.BAN LETHAL/LEG IRON TRAPS & SNARES & PUT WOLVES BACK ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST PERMANENTLY

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/ban-lethalleg-iron-traps/?source=search

11.Saving the Grey Wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/saving-the-grey-wolves/?source=search

12.Stop the War on Wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-the-war-on-wolves/?source=search

13.Make Wolves a protected Species in MN

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/make-wolves-a-protected/?source=search

14.Save Mexican Grey Wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-mexican-grey-wolves/?source=search

15.STOP THE KILLING OF WOLVES
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-the-killing-of-wolves/?sourc e=search

16.Save the Wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-the-wolves-2/?source=search

17.Protect The Wolves on ESA

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/protect-the-wolves-on/?source=search

18.URGENT – ACT TO STOP SLAUGHTER OF GRAY WOLVES

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/urgent-act-to-stop-slaughter/?source=search

19.PUT WOLVES BACK ONTO ENDANGERED LIST
http://petitions.move on.org/sign/put-wolves-back-onto/?source=search

20.Repeal the new wolf hunting and trapping regulations

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/repeal-the-new-wolf-hunting/?source=search

21.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Don’t De-List Gray Wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/us-fish-and-wildlife/?source=search

22.save the wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-the-wolves-1/?source=search

23.Help Stop the Killing of Wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/help-stop-the-killing/?source=search

24.Tell Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell: Stop a Delisting Catastrophe

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/tell-secretary-of-interior/?source=search

25.STOP the KILLING OF OUR WOLVES

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-the-killing-of-our/?source=search

26.Allow wolves back into Utah

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/allow-wolves-back-into/?source=search

27.Stop killing the wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-killing-the-wolves/?source=search

28.Wildlife Management Change

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/wildlife-management-change-1/?source=search

29.Co-existing with Wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/show.html?show_optin_checkbox=0&source=search

30.Stop the wolf hunt

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-the-wolf-hunt-1/?source=search

31.Stop Wolf Trapping in Montana

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-wolf-trapping-in/?source=search

32.Save the Wolves and Dogs

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-the-wolves-and-dogs/?source=search

33.Boycott Casperson’s Upper Peninsula

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/boycott-caspersons-upper/?source=search

34.stop shooting and killing wolves

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-shooting-and-killing/?source=search

35.Enable law enforcement to fully implement the existing laws to protect hunting dogs.

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/hunting-dog-exemption/?source=search

36.REPEAL THE IOWA “AG GAG BILL” AND STOP FARM ANIMAL ABUSE

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/ag-gag-bill/?source=search

37.Please put an end to animal abuse in the commercial industries

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/animal-welfare/?source=search

38.Re list All US Wolf Population NOW

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/re-list-all-us-wolf-populati/?source=search

39.Ban The Sale of Animal Skins in The United States!

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/ban-the-sale-of-animal/?source=search

40.Ban trapping in America, as all other civilized countries have already done; based on cruelty and torture.

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/ban-trapping-in-america/?source=search

41.STOP COYOTE TRAPPING in ATLANTA

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-coyote-trapping/?source=search

42.Protection from Trapping in White Bear, MN
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/protection-from-trapp ing/?source=search

43.OPPOSE MONTANA WOLF House Bills 73, 31 and 33

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/oppose-montana-wolf-house/?source=search

Giza Zoo in Cairo is beset by poverty, tear gas and suspicious animal deaths

“Please sign the petitions below, these animals have to be saved!”

By Abigail Hauslohner, Published: December 18

CAIRO — The giraffe committed suicide, an Egyptian newspaper reported. And the government pulled a former zoo director out of retirement to deal with the resulting media storm.

“The problem is with the press,” Nabil Sedki said on a recent afternoon, taking a deep drag on his cigarette as he settled into a giraffe-patterned armchair in his office. He was five days into the job. “The media fabricated the suicide.”

From ‘Occupy for Animals’ Please sign the petition below

The giraffe in question was a 3-year-old named Roqa, who, Sedki said, inadvertently hanged herself earlier this month after getting tangled in a wire inside her enclosure.

The state has launched three investigations — one purely forensic, another by the government’s official veterinary body and a third by a legal committee — “to see who will hang instead of the giraffe,” Sedki said with a wry laugh.

Zoos are prone to bad publicity, especially when something goes wrong. The government-run Giza Zoo, in the heart of Egypt’s chaotic capital, may be particularly susceptible, given the country’s floundering economy, the tumult of nearby political demonstrations and an overall poor track record in animal care.

In May, three black bears died in a single night under mysterious circumstances. Zoo authorities called it a bear “riot.” In 2007 and in 2008, local media reported that zoo-keepers were slaughtering the park’s camels for meat — to eat themselves, and to sell to other hungry Egyptians.

And this month, the independent Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported that Roqa had committed suicide. The article went viral. (The same newspaper reported in August that the giraffes and other large animals at the zoo were so troubled by Egypt’s ongoing political unrest — especially the chants of protesters from the Muslim Brotherhood in a nearby public square — that they had been mulling suicide for a while.)

Petition by Occupy for Animals Luxembourg, Luxembourg

“Is there anyone who actually believes that this giraffe committed suicide?” Sedki asked. As he spoke, a fresh, stinging cloud of tear gas wafted in through an open doorway, and the thudding blasts of tear-gas cannons could be heard from the latest clashes between student protesters and police at neighbouring Cairo University.

The campus is just northwest of the 122-year-old zoo, the biggest and oldest of Egypt’s seven zoological parks. On its north flank, just outside the zoo’s main gate, is Nahda Square, which served as a permanent protest encampment for supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi for more than a month in the summer. Police used bullets and tear gas to disperse the protesters in August, killing scores of people.

When police fire tear gas at protesters, the irritating vapors inevitably make their way toward the animal enclosures, compelling zookeepers to wrap their faces in scarves on the worst of days. It has gotten to the animals, too, Sedki said.

“The sounds of the bullets and the tear gas affect the animals,” Sedki said. Some of the large animals, such as lions and hippos, have displayed “restlessness and tension,” he said.

Sedki said zoo authorities had moved some of the animals to different enclosures but found that they had few good options, given that all 80 acres of the zoo are bordered by roaring traffic and gritty urban sprawl.

For that same reason, Egyptians see the zoo as a rare — if dilapidated and underfunded — oasis of green. It costs about 70 cents (5 Egyptian pounds) to enter. Families bring picnics and set up camp for the entire day on the grassy medians. Couples stroll hand in hand, and bands of giggling teenagers roam.

“I know that in the West, going to the zoo is like going to a museum — you go to get knowledge,” Sedki said. “But here, they come to visit a garden, not a zoo.”

Animal rights activists — themselves a rare breed in Egypt — have long been concerned about conditions at Giza, which echo the nation’s widespread poverty and bureaucratic failings after decades of authoritarianism and turmoil.

“This is not a zoo,” said Mona Khalil, a founder of the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals, which runs two shelters and provides free veterinary care to poor farmers on Cairo’s outskirts. “This is hell for animals.”

Many of the zoo’s employees earn less than $60 a month, activists say, and have little experience or training and even less incentive to protect the animals they care for. Instead, the employees follow visitors over the zoo’s muddy and potholed paths, offering scattered “facts” about the animals’ daily lives or an opportunity to get closer to them — in the hope that it will yield tips.

On a recent afternoon, some keepers touted the chance to hold a lion cub — or, if the visitor would prefer it, a monkey or a baby crocodile — for the equivalent of about $3.60.

Adult lions, cramped in iron-barred cages that resembled the circus pens of an earlier era, crunched on animal carcasses, as visitors used their cellphones to take pictures. Hippos and pelicans drifted through murky water. And a sickly black bear watched as a pair of stray cats hunched over its food dish.

Appalling conditions

Published on 20 Mar 2013 by Ismail Raef

“Anyone want a picture with a baby lion? Anyone want a picture with a baby lion?” an employee droned as he stood next to a row of cages, a camera around his neck.

Another zoo-keeper gestured toward a rhinoceros that was nosing around in the shade of some trees. “Her husband died six months ago,” the keeper said in a cheerful, casual tone. “She killed him with her horn.” Without further explanation, the keeper quickly walked away.

No one in the zoo’s administrative office was quite sure how many animals are kept on the premises. Staff members searched through files in the high-ceilinged administrative headquarters — a building full of binders, and apparently devoid of computers — but were able to find figures only from 2009: 78 species of mammals, 82 species of birds and 26 species of reptiles — for a total of 4,631 individual animals. Of those, about “forty-something” are lions, Sedki said.

Chained elephant – Giza Zoo – August 2012

Published on 24 Aug 2012 – Investigation conducted by Hatem Moushir, 3 August 2012 – in Giza Zoo

In 2010, the zoo began to separate most of its forty-something lions by sex — an effort to stem the sky-rocketing population. Meat is pricey, and space is limited.

To cope, many of the big cats are packed two per cage. They eat mostly donkey carcasses, zoo-keepers said, and they “fast” one day a week.

News Link:-http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/giza-zoo-in-cairo-is-beset-by-poverty-tear-gas-and-suspicious-animal-deaths/2013/12/18/1617aca0-6581-11e3-997b-9213b17dac97_story.html

Petitions:-

• https://www.change.org/petitions/military-general-and-dr-osama-selim-please-protect-the-weak-and-helpless-this-includes-the-animals
• http://www.change.org/petitions/egypt-close-down-all-7-governmental-zoos-that-are-nothing-less-than-hell-holes?utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition
• http://www.change.org/petitions/please-don-t-let-the-animals-suffer-in-your-zoos
• http://www.change.org/petitions/giza-zoo-unchain-the-elephants#

Please watch the pictures at the link and share this page with as many as you can:
http://www.occupyforanimals.org/egypts-zoos–hell-holes-for-animals.html

Black in the Giza Zoo 09/21/2012 – Living conditions of Lions

Published on 22 Sep 2,012 – Part of investigation conducted by Hatem Moushir, 21 September 2012 – in Giza Zoo

News comments:– Felinis Wrote – 12/18/2013 6:27 PM GMT

Kabul, Afganistan:
Marjan the lion was injured in 1994 when a visitor tried to impress his friends by climbing into his den. When the animal’s mate attacked and killed him, the man’s brother came to the zoo the next day and threw a grenade at Marjan in revenge. The explosion blinded him, broke his jaw and destroyed seven teeth.

The 25 year-old beast who was half-blind, lame and almost toothless died of old age in 2002 only weeks after an international animal rescue mission arrived to help him.

News Link:-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1783910.stm

At another mid-east zoo four animals died after being fed tobacco by visitors.

Giza Zoo – August 2012 

Listen to an interview on Wildtime RadioAnimal rights activist Dina Zulfikar talked to WILD TIME RADIO about the zoos, CITES,
the lack of green space in their country, and more.

hmoushir

“So the bars are to keep the animals safe; the real animals live outside the bars.”

Further Reading:-http://esmaegypt.org/blog/2011/04/10/protest-at-cairo-zoo-on-april-16/

 Sara Abou Bakr  /   May 11, 2013  “Calling all animal activists:-“

Reports on the news stated that the three female bears were fighting over a male.

Two days later, the Al-Watan newspaper broke the story;  the three bears died because of a sedative overdose, leading to two falling over and breaking several bones, while the remaining one drowned.

A photo of a starving lioness at Alexandria Zoo ignited anger last August, gaining international scrutiny from animal activists. The zoo manager assured them the case was under control. A day later, the lioness died.

Similar stories of the negligence of the seven governmental zoos in Egypt can be easily dug up.  One only has to walk through one of them to see the abuse; malnourished lions, hippos swimming in filthy ponds, wild dogs injured and left untreated, seals that perform tricks on command, brown bears spoon-fed and petted by visitors

You do not have to be a specialist to see the abuse first-hand.

Giza Zoo, because it is located in the capital, gets the lion’s share of media attention, followed by Alexandria Zoo. The conditions of the other governmental zoos in Beni Suef, Fayoum, Kafr El-Sheikh, Mansoura, and Tanta are even worse. Puny and injured animals suffering from malnourishment is a major concern.

News Link:–http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/05/11/calling-all-animal-activists/

Giza Zoo

Gaza is another place you wouldn’t necessarily think of having a zoo. In recent years the Palestinian city has suffered from Israeli blockades and internal conflicts, and its zoo hasn’t fared much better. Today it houses two lions, a few monkeys, some birds, rabbits, cats, dogs and two fake zebras: donkeys painted with black and white stripes (pictured).
The zoo once had two real zebras in its collection, but they died of malnutrition during the Israel-Hamas war, when there was actual fighting within the zoo itself. Zoo officials later tried to replace the zebras, but finally opted for painted donkeys due to limited funds.

Donkeys painted to look like Zebra:-http://www.animals-zone.com/saddest-zoos-world

Founded in 1891, the Giza Zoo in Cairo, Egypt, was once among the best zoos in Africa. But today it’s a shell of its former glory, expelled from the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2004 after failing an inspection. WAZA director Peter Dollinger wouldn’t tell Reuters in 2008 why exactly the zoo was expelled, saying only that “There were things that were not acceptable.”

Zookeepers reportedly augment their salaries by charging patrons to enter the cages with the animals, and two men broke into the zoo in 2007, killing two camels. Dozens of birds died from avian flu in 2006, and more than 500 were slaughtered to stem the outbreak. According to the Global Post, zoo workers also inhumanely killed two gorillas in 2004 thought to be infected with the Ebola virus.

News Link:– http://www.animals-zone.com/saddest-zoos-world

“Cairo “Giza” Zoo a sad disgrace.. needs outside help!”:-http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g294201-d552447-r97990506-The_Zoo-Cairo_Cairo_Governorate.html

Circus Showtime: Despite Ban Not Seriously Observed

Global Times | 2013-12-23 19:53:01

Located in Jiufeng Forest Park in Wuhan, Hubei Province, is a “Dream Theater” that puts on animal performances, drawing applause from audiences and growing criticism from animal rights activists. 

Their circus shows, which include jumping tigers, cycling bears and monkeys riding goats, attract throngs of people at 10 am and 2 pm every day.

Trainer Zhang Jiafeng performs with five tigers onstage. Photo: IC

During peak seasons, like the National Day holidays, the show is put on up to eight times a day, pushing both trainers and animals to the limit.

The trainers’ job is by no means an easy one. For Zhang Jiafeng, 21, who has been performing with the tigers for four years, maintaining safety is still paramount.

During performances, a fence separates the audience from the stage. However, the most dangerous moment for the trainers, Zhang said, is the journey between the den and the stage before and after the show, during which the trainers are placed in an enclosed space with the animals without any protection.

Trainer Zhang Jiafeng sends the tigers from their den to behind the stage ahead of a show. Photo: IC

Despite the danger and psychological pressure involved in this work, the performers and trainers in this circus make at most 4,000 yuan a month.

A goat named Xiaofang and a monkey are one of the most popular duos in the circus. Photo: IC

Animal performances are facing tighter controls in China. The country so far hasn’t legislated on animal welfare, which is still a fairly new concept for the nation. However, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has ordered twice, in 2010 and 2013, an end to all kinds of animal performances. The ban has not been seriously observed

News Link:-http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/833711.shtml#.Urle8dLud84