The Public Works and Transportation Committee members of the Dane County (Madison, Wisconsin) Board of Supervisors will be voting on the proposed ban on circuses with elephants TONIGHT.  Please take a moment to express your opposition to this ban by sending a short e-mail (1-2 sentences) to each member of the Board of Supervisors. 

The Dane County website at http://www.countyofdane.com/board/supervisors.aspx has a link to “Email All Supervisors.”  Personal letters have been appreciated up to this point, but now the number of e-mails in opposition is more important than personal letters to each Supervisor. 

The proposed ban would prevent all circuses with elephants from being able to return to Dane County.  Even if you have already sent a letter to the Supervisors, please follow-up with a short e-mail stating you oppose the proposed ban.  Suggested talking points are listed below, but again, only 1-2 sentences in your own words are needed.

Thank you for your help and your continued support of circuses with elephants!

Suggested talking points (do not need to use all, and feel free to use your own words):

• The care and handling of elephants in zoos and circuses are already subject to various federal, state and local animal welfare and cruelty laws. Mistreatment or abuse of any animal is already prohibited under these laws.

•  Like zoos, all circuses and traveling animal exhibitors, are  licensed and regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and  are subject to unannounced and regular inspections seven days a week to ensure compliance with all standards and regulations under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

• Traveling exhibitors are subject to regulation and inspection by state and local welfare animal agencies in nearly every city they visit.

• For millions of families, the opportunity to see elephants and other animals up close in a performance setting is a unique and treasured experience.  It is well-established that the opportunity to experience elephants and other animals up close in zoos and circuses is a crucial aspect of conservation education and significantly contributes to the public’s awareness of and interest in preserving these magnificent animals. 

• It is wrong for those who do not believe in performing animals to impose their opinion on others and to deny families and children a chance to appreciate these magnificent species, which can only be provided by seeing them live and up close.  People who don’t like circuses don’t have to go but don’t let them take away that right from others.