TEAPSPA has been reintroduced in Congress!
Take action TODAY to help Stop Circus Suffering!
On November 17, the Traveling Exotic Animal & Public Safety Protection Act (TEAPSPA, H.R.5999/S.3220) was reintroduced to the 117th Congress by Representatives Raul Grijalva, David Schweikert, and Senator Bob Menéndez.
If TEAPSPA is passed, it would amend the Animal Welfare Act to restrict the use of exotic and wild animals in traveling acts across the US.
Extensive evidence demonstrates that traveling shows cannot provide for the physical, behavioral and psychological needs of wild animals. Severe confinement in barren conditions, lack of exercise and restriction of natural behaviors, result in animals prone to health, behavioral and psychological problems. Welfare is always compromised. Constant fear, brutal handling, restriction of movement, causes stress to wild animals, making them dangerous. When in close proximity to the public, this creates a serious public safety hazard. Federal oversight of traveling animal acts is problematic, unmanageable, and costly for American taxpayers.
In the US, more than 100 jurisdictions in 34 states have ended or restricted circus shows, as have nearly 50 countries worldwide. It is time for a federal ban in the US with TEAPSPA.
You can watch a replay of the TEAPSPA launch event through ADI’s YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter pages.
The event was hosted by Daytime Emmy Award nominated actress, Kim Matula and featured actresses Chloe East from HBO’s Generation, ADI Ambassador Jorja Fox from CSI, and veterinarian Dr. Betsy Coville. Guest speakers included the bill sponsors Representatives Raul M. Grijalva and David Schweikert, and Senator Bob Menéndez.
Animals in US circuses need you to be their voice. Contact your legislators and ask them to cosponsor TEAPSPA (HR5999 and S3220). bit.ly/SupportTEAPSPA Share our e-alerts and social media posts with family and friends, and ask them to get involved (this is vital to building momentum), so that legislators receive a clear message — it is time to stop the suffering of circus animals in the US.
Comments
Leave a comment on this story
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I appreciate people leading real change in the world, while the old wrinkled crooked finger shaking old people try to ruin it.
Just sent my email to my state reps and posted it to my friend who actually worked at a chimpanzee sanctuary who will give powerful testimony to the suffering and danger of using wild animals in entertainment. I have picketed and leafletted for over 20 years on this issue and we have seen major successes. My state of Washington banned big cats and primates as pets 20 years ago as well as recently banning bullhooks in Spokane stopping trained elephants from appearing and endangering the public. We are fighting hard so ADI supporters should feel encouraged and be unafraid to contact legislators now. This will get done. Please contact your representatives now!
Additionally, it is vital to remember that not all will necessarily be persuaded for humane reasons to support the ban. For others it will be their and their children’s personal safety that is the reason for its passage and there is a mountain of evidence of animal attacks to the public and animal trainers going back decades with circus animals such as elephants, big cats, bears, and primates that is extremely important to pass on to the legislators you need to contact. Certain monkey species, for instances, are carriers of the Herpes B virus which is deadly to humans, yet these animals are unrestricted in the entertainment trade. I brought this evidence to city council years ago and it resulted in adding all nonhuman primates to the list of animals banned as pets in Spokane, Washington in 2000. Please contact ADI and search the internet for science literature for this and wild animal attacks and you will have more influence than ever on your side to help your legislators. Please take action now. We can get this law passed NOW!
I recently have passed out hundreds of ADI’s Stop Circus Suffering leaflets and the positive responses I get have proven to me the public is on the side of this issue. The local Shrine which is the main promoter of animal based circuses in the city of Spokane, Washington for more than 50 years has always insisted it would never stop using animal acts in just brought in an animal -free circus! Spokane has always been one of the toughest places to protest in, but this issue has broken through despite all the roadblocks it’s faced. Please don’t be discouraged, take this small but important action and email a friend and the animals will be free of circus suffering!
Please look at ADI’s video footage of the recent Shrine circus elephants fighting in the circus ring between performances. Also search online for the circus tiger escape during a circus performance in the U.S. online. Bring a laptop or cell phone with internet with one or more of these videos when meeting with your elected officials.Video evidence from the past and more current along with your explanation of how this is an unnecessary danger to circus fans and the public is what will make your meeting a success. I personally emphasize the danger aspects because there is a huge amount of evidence readily available to support it and people naturally care about their own safety. Being a circus clown myself, I was always warned to stay clear of elephants and chimpanzees. I worked in 2 circuses that featured chimps, one in 1983 and another in 1986 and had 2 close calls. Chimpanzees are hostile to clowns, and I accidentally got near the chimps before they performed and took off immediately. This should concern any fans who may dress up as clowns at the circus as a promotional event which circuses occasionally offer as publicity for their shows. And when I take footage during elephant rides I always concentrate on running for the exit because elephants have attacked while giving rides without warning. An incident with the elephant Janet in 1992 where she destroyed property and tried to kill her bullhook wielding trainer is available online and should be included when possible in your presentations.
I looked up the Centers for Disease Control’s site on Herpes B infection from monkeys and it said it is USUALLY transmitted from being bitten or scratched by an infected monkey, but the virus is also present in monkey saliva, urine, fecal matter and nervous tissue ( never heard of nervous tissue.)This can easily be spread to people if a monkey runs from the circus ring into the audience, or by taking pictures with a trained monkey. Please go to a search engine and type in Herpes B risks from monkeys to humans or go to http://www.CDC.gov for scientific data.
I don’t expect all these comments to get printed but I just wanted to give credit to Dr. Roger Fouts and Dr. Shirley McGreal. who supplied me with a fantastic letter on safety risks handling captive primates and an article on a capuchin monkey kept as a pet who tore the flesh of his captor who nearly died from blood loss from the injuries. This was a small monkey probably only about 7 pounds in weight and about the size of a house cat. If it hadn’t been for those 2 letters, I doubt I would have succeeded at all in getting primates added to the pet ban if it hadn’t been for those letters.For some reason city animal control, who was pushing for the ban, refused to add primates to that ordinance. The letters were particularly effective because Dr. Fouts ran the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute where there were 4 chimps in his care, and Dr. McGreal who runs a sanctuary for gibbon apes.
I hope I don’t come across as trying to brag, my only intent is to show what has worked for me will work for activists trying to get this bill passed. I am so grateful that ADI has decided to make this their major mission for now because the effects will be huge. This will massive reduce the trade and suffering in wild animals for profit.
Sorry for not spell checking
A large number of the particular species of monkeys that carry Herpes B are in captivity. It has been well established at least in America that these animals are trafficked in the captivity trade which includes entertainment exhibitors in circuses as well as the mostly unrestricted trade in pet monkeys in America by the thousands.