The Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, April 15, regarding House Bill 7192. The bill would essentially prohibit circuses from exhibiting elephants by banning the use of certain elephant training tools, including the elephant guide (or ankus) and tethers.  If HB 7192 (and its companion bill, Senate Bill 2189) is passed into law, it would prevent Ringling Bros. and other circuses from visiting Rhode Island by preventing the use of widely accepted elephant management tools.

Please take a moment to contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee and Senate Environment Committee with a short e-mail, phone call, or letter, and encourage your friends and family to do the same – especially those that live in Rhode Island or who have been to circus performances in Rhode Island.  Sample talking points for your correspondence are listed below, but please use your own words and your own experiences as a circus animal supporter to politely express your opposition to an elephant ban.  A group email list for the Committee members is included at the end of this document.

Thank you very much for your help, and if you have any questions, please contact Mary Lou Kelly at mkelly@feldinc.com. Further, if anyone in the Rhode Island area is available to testify at the April 15 hearing in support of elephants in circuses, please contact Mary Lou as well.

House Judiciary Committee:

Rep. Cale P. Keable, Chair                            (401) 710-1239                   rep-keable@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Doreen Marie Costa, Vice Chair       (401) 206-6891                   rep-costa@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Edith H. Ajello                                         (401) 222-3580                   rep-ajello@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Joseph S. Almeida Jr.                           (401) 222-3580                   rep-almeida@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Christopher R. Blazejewski                (401) 484-8814                   rep-blazejewski@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Dennis M. Canario                                 (401) 683-4926                   rep-canario@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Robert E. Craven Sr.                             (401) 222-3580                   rep-craven@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. John G. Edwards                                    (401) 624-8879                   rep-edwards@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Donald J. Lally Jr.                                    (401) 792-9090                   rep-lally@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Charlene M. Lima                                  (401) 222-6595                   rep-lima@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Peter F. Martin                                       (401) 924-2402                   rep-martin@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Joe Shekarchi                                          (401) 222-3580                   rep-shekarchi@rilin.state.ri.us

Rep. Donna M. Walsh                                    (401) 364-6433                   rep-walsh@rilin.state.ri.us

Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee

Senator V. Susan Sosnowski, Chair           (401) 783-7704                   sen-sosnowski@rilin.state.ri.us

Senator William A. Walaska, Vice Chair   (401) 737-1065                   sen-walaska@rilin.state.ri.us

Senator Stephen R. Archambault              (401) 276-5599                   sen-archambault@rilin.state.ri.us

Senator David E. Bates                                   (401) 246-1379                   sen-bates@rilin.state.ri.us

Senator William J. Conley, Jr.                      (401) 438-1924                   sen-conley@rilin.state.ri.us

Senator Catherine Cool Rumsey                (401) 268-7220                   sen-coolrumsey@rilin.state.ri.us

Senator Gayle L. Goldin                                 (401) 340-5050                   sen-goldin@rilin.state.ri.us

Senator Maryellen Goodwin                       (401) 272-3102                   sen-goodwin@rilin.state.ri.us

Senator Nicholas D. Kettle                           (401) 473-7784                   sen-kettle@rilin.state.ri.us

Mailing address for both Committees is 82 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02903.

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.

·         Tell the Committee members that you are OPPOSED to any measure that would prevent circuses and other travelling exhibitors with elephants from visiting Rhode Island.

·         All circuses are required to have a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) exhibitor’s license.  USDA conducts regular unannounced inspections of all 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 the local cities they visit and the state of Rhode Island.  Such regulations provide protection to all performing animals and allow for the prosecution of those who neglect or mistreat the animals in their care.

·         Millions of American families support and enjoy traditional circuses with elephants and other exotic animals, including many thousands who attend shows in Rhode Island.  It is wrong to deprive them of the right to choose to do so.

·         Circuses and other traveling exhibitors with performing animals contribute to the local economies of the communities they perform in and support hundreds of jobs for local arena and other workers.

·         If any animal is being mistreated in any environment, then the right answer is to enforce existing laws and regulations to punish bad actors, as opposed to punishing an entire industry and the public who enjoy circuses.

·         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.

Thank you!

Email group:

rep-keable@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-ajello@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-almeida@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-blazejewski@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-canario@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-costa@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-craven@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-edwards@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-lally@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-lima@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-martin@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-shekarchi@rilin.state.ri.us; rep-walsh@rilin.state.ri.us; sen-sosnowski@rilin.state.ri.us; sen-walaska@rilin.state.ri.us; sen-archambault@rilin.state.ri.us; sen-bates@rilin.state.ri.us; sen-conley@rilin.state.ri.us; sen-coolrumsey@rilin.state.ri.us; sen-goldin@rilin.state.ri.us; sen-goodwin@rilin.state.ri.us; sen-kettle@rilin.state.ri.us