ARFF - Cole Bros. Circus



	Violent, physical abuse remains a common method of training and controlling elephants and other animals in the circus. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cited Cole Bros. after a handler struck an elephant twice with a broom handle. In 2000, USDA inspectors noted that two Cole Bros. elephants had bullhook scars. In 1999, the USDA charged Cole Bros. with violating the Animal Welfare Act; USDA undersecretary Michael Dunn stated, “We believe that on numerous occasions, employees of the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus abusively used an elephant hook on several animals” (the circus settled the charges by agreeing to spend $10,000 to improve elephant care). Circus' Aging Elephants Deserve Retirement Each year the Cole Bros. Circus travels thousands of miles across the eastern U.S. with a menagerie of animals including elephants. During the Cole Bros. Circus’ 2007 tour, the USDA ordered that two elephants be taken off the road due to "an alarming amount of weight loss" and other health concerns. In 2008, Cole Bros. traveled with two Asian elephants, “Topsy” and “Annette.” Topsy is well-known for a prominent limp that she displays when the circus forces her to give elephant rides between performances. (photo: Cole Bros. in Sarasota, April 2008) The Cole Bros. Circus has repeatedly refused to retire aging elephants, even when it is obvious that they are suffering from painful arthritis or other captivity-induced health problems (conditions linked to prolonged chaining and lack of proper exercise). In the past 10 years, at least five aging elephants with the Cole Bros. Circus have died. Progress. Although Cole Bros. has resisted calls to abandon its use of exotic animals, the circus has been forced to make changes. For years, the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida protested the annual Cole Bros. Circus performance in the City of Coral Springs. In November 2006, the city and local sponsors of the circus agreed on a compromise— if the circus chose to perform in Coral Springs it could not bring its elephants to the city. Similarly, in March 2007, a permit granted to Cole Bros. allowed the circus to perform in Palm Coast, but stipulated that Cole Bros. could not bring elephants, big cats and camels to the city. Animal-free circuses are becoming more popular, but Cole Bros. is struggling to attract an audience. In November 2007, the Orlando Sentinel wrote about a Cole Bros. performance in Daytona Beach. Despite the circus distributing 60,000 (!) free children's tickets, "plenty of seats were still empty." A trapeze artist with the circus described the mood, "I get a little depressed when there's no people."