7:13 p.m. Wednesday, November 3, 2010

 

Fulton County Commissioner Tom Lowe argued Wednesday that nobody loves animals more than him -- he cries when he puts his dogs down -- but he said there is a place for cattle prods and bullhooks.

The commission went along with Lowe, voting 4-3 against a proposed ban on the use of bullhooks by circus elephant trainers. 

Animal advocates referenced videos they contend show trainers beating the beasts bloody with bullhooks -- a device that resembles an oversized fire poker. Circus advocates said the videos are misleading and Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus said such a ban would prevent the circus from putting on shows at Philips Arena in February.

The commission chambers were packed with opponents of the device wearing "Ban the Bullhook" buttons, and circus proponents wearing "Don't Ban the Circus" buttons.

Children appeared on both sides, with one little girl carrying a sign that said, "Ban the Bullhook, Not the Circus." A Cub Scout appeared with his father to beseech the commissioners not to do anything that would prevent the Greatest Show on Earth from entertaining metro Atlanta families.

"If this ban happens, the circus would not be able to come," said Trey Feazell, senior vice president for Philips Arena. "The circus has been coming to Atlanta for 40 years."

Pitts said the ban would apply only to unincorporated Fulton and that it wouldn't affect whether Ringling Brothers could come to Philips Arena unless the city of Atlanta chose to incorporate the ban into its animal-cruelty laws.

Lowe, Commissioners Lynne Riley and Nancy Boxill and Chairman John Eaves voted against the ban, with Commissioners Robb Pitts, Emma Darnell and Bill Edwards wanting use of the bullhook stopped.

Boxill argued that existing animal-cruelty laws covered misuse of the bullhook. Pitts, who proposed the ban, contended that the county animal-cruelty law, which requires a complaint to spark an investigation, was insufficient. He said it was important to take a stance against the bullhook as an inhumane device.

"I really don't understand what the hesitancy is about voting for this," Pitts said. "If it is money, let's just say it is money."

Lowe noted cattle prods, a device that helps herd cattle with an electric shock, might appear cruel but they're useful to the beef industry, just as Tasers might appear cruel but are useful to police. He said he suspected bullhooks fell into the same category.

When it comes to training animals, Lowe joked, "You can teach a horse to deal cards; it is just a matter of voltage."

Andrew Smith, a member of the board of directors of the Elephant Managers Association in Memphis, attended the meeting to speak in favor of the bullhook, which he said was being unfairly maligned. He said the tool was used to "convey information" to the elephant by tapping it. He said he knew of no instances where trainers taught by fear or beat their charges.

"We use it to gently touch them and if they respond appropriately, we reward them," he said of the bullhook. "It is positive re-enforcement."

And if the elephant doesn't respond appropriately?  "Elephants can walk away whenever," he said.

Anna Ware, 50, who organized the local ban-the-bullhook movement after seeing online video, said that Ringling Brothers had other alternatives than boycotting Atlanta if the bullhook ban was passed.

"They can come without the elephants," the Buckhead woman said.  "The bullhook is a weapon. You can call it a guide or device, but it is a weapon."

Ware said that her group was taking the bullhook ban request to DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett and Floyd counties, where people have expressed interest.

Pitts said that despite the defeat -- the second his proposal has suffered before the commission -- it was not a dead issue.

“I can assure you of this,” he told the other commissioners. “This is not over.”