Contact Manchester Mayor and Aldermen to Oppose Proposed Performing Animal Ban

The Mayor and Board of Aldermen are considering a request to examine the issue of performing animals in the city of Manchester, NH.  Local animal rights groups are seeking an outright ban on circuses that use exotic animals.

(See news coverage at http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120410/NEWS01/704109955.)

Please contact the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen to let them know you support circuses that use performing and exotic animals and request that they not consider such a ban.  Polite e-mails and letters from Circus Fans and other supporters who have attended circus performances in Manchester are especially encouraged.   Sample talking points are included below, but please use your own wording where possible.

The contact information for the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen follows.  Thank you for your help in Manchester!

Board of Aldermen: items for the Board's consideration can be directed to the City Clerk’s office.  Use the link below to send an e-mail to the City Clerk.  Please choose the subject “Board of Mayor and Aldermen Calendar” in the scroll down menu.

The e-mail form for the City Clerk is located at http://www.manchesternh.gov/website/Departments/CityClerk/ContactCityClerk/tabid/818/Default.aspx

Letters sent by standard mail can be sent to the following address:

Board of Aldermen

1 City Hall Plaza

Manchester, NH  03101

Mayor:

The Honorable Ted Gatsas, Mayor

City of Manchester

1 City Hall Plaza

Manchester, NH  03101

E-mail link: http://www.manchesternh.gov/website/MayorandAldermen/MayorsOffice/ContacttheMayor/tabid/878/Default.aspx

Sample talking points:

The following are suggestions for your correspondence, but please use your own words, and you do not need to include every bullet point.  Please keep all correspondence respectful.

·         All circuses are required to have a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) exhibitor’s license.  USDA conducts regular unannounced inspections of performing animals and their stable areas, and their inspection reports are a matter of public record.

·         Circuses and other animal exhibitors are also subject to state and local animal cruelty laws and permit requirements in Manchester and the state of New Hampshire.  Such regulations provide protection to all performing animals and allow for the prosecution of those who neglect or mistreat the animals in their care.

·         Circuses contribute to the local economies of the communities they perform in and help support municipal areas.

·         A positive, healthy environment is the only acceptable and successful method of training performing animals, including elephants. Therefore, the cornerstone of all circus animal training is positive reinforcement through praise, repetition and reward.

·         Circus elephants and other performing animals are well cared for and it only makes sense that circuses would take good care of them. In fact, performing circus animals generally are healthier and live longer than their counterparts in zoos.

·         Proponents of performing animal bans mischaracterize or misunderstand the facts about the training and handling of circus animals. Most of the organizations that advocate such bans do so as part of a larger, animal rights agenda which opposes all or most human interaction with animals.

·         The city of Manchester should not take away the right to choose whether or not to view animals in entertainment.