DAN’S PAPERS
Page 44 July 27, 2012
danshamptons.com
Shinnecock (Cont’d from previous page) the show. “Elephants and Tigers are not like dogs,” says Penzel, “They cannot be trained with a cookie. Their training involves much more forceful measures.” According to Penzel one of their main objections is to the use of “bullhooks,” which are hooked instruments with sharp ends that can be used to control elephants by applying pressure to their sensitive areas. “There are so many other countries that ban animal circuses for these very reasons,” says Penzel. “It is a mystery to me why Southampton hasn’t been able to address this issue permanently.” Among the list of nations that ban animal circuses are Bolivia, Austria, India, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal and Slovakia. Dorothy Frankel, a well-known
Dorothy Frankel
animal rights activists over the years, who activists have been using existing legislation to believe that the training and handling of some argue on behalf of the ban of exotic animals. of these exotic animals falls under the category Now, however, it seems as if their efforts in of “cruelty.” Protests of the circus at the Elks passing the new legislation were for naught—as Lodge have been of three years ago, the going on since 1990, circus has moved just and first started with Elephants and tigers cannot be down the road to the the help of author and Reservation, where it East End resident, trained with a cookie...There are so is able to avoid the Cleveland Amory, who many other countries that ban town’s jurisdiction. devoted his life to the Now that the circus animal circuses. promotion of animal has moved, so have the rights. Although protestors. Two dozen Amory passed in 1998, his cause has been people gathered out in front of the entrance to taken up by others, like Zelda Penzel, the the Reservation on Tuesday afternoon, trying leader of PEACE (People for the End of Animal to garner support from people driving by and Cruelty and Exploitation). Penzel and her fellow to deter circus goers from coming in to see
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local sculptor as well as an animal rights activist agrees, “There’s a ban in Southampton, why wouldn’t there be a ban on the Reservation?” The protestors seemed to be getting a lot of honks in support and they felt like they were getting their point across. According to Penzel, their efforts in Southampton have been mirrored by governmental action against animal circuses. Last year the Cole Brothers along with owner, John Pugh, pleaded guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act (1973) by illegally selling two elephants into unsuitable conditions. The Circus was then sentenced to four years of probation and fined $150,000. In recent months, the circus was fined $15,000 by the USDA for failure to provide proper veternary care and living conditions for their elephants. Of course, there are always two sides to the story. Circuses often claim that their programs are beneficial to the survival of the species. According to the Cole Bros. website their elephants come from The Endangered Ark Foundation, which is the “home of the 2nd largest herd of elephants in the U.S. and one of the most successful breeding programs in the world.” Whether your heart bleeds for these animals or not, it would be hard to imagine a child who would be able to enjoy the circus after seeing the protestors’ signs at the entrance.