Officials in the city of Rolling Hills Estates, CA are considering an ordinance to ban circuses, elephant rides and any public or private performances with wild or exotic animals.  The proposed ordinance has already passed a first reading in the City Council, and will be taken up again on September 10, 2013.

Please contact the Mayor and the members of the City Council to let them know you support exotic animal performances (including circuses), exhibitions, and elephant rides.  Polite e-mails and letters from California Circus Fans are especially encouraged.  Sample talking points are included at the end of this alert, but please use your own words where possible. 

The contact information for the Mayor and City Council are listed below.  Thank you for your help! 

Rolling Hills Estates, CA City Council:

Mayor Frank V. Zerunyan

FrankZ@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us

Mayor Pro Tem Judy Mitchell

JudyM@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us

Council Member John Addleman

JohnA@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us

Council Member Steven Zuckerman

SteveZ@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us

Council Member Susan Seamans

SusanS@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us

Mailing address:

4045 Palos Verdes Drive North

Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274

Telephone: 310-377-1577

FAX: 310-377-4468

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 and exotic animal exhibitors 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.  Such regulations provide protection to all performing animals and allow for the prosecution of those who neglect or mistreat the animals in their care.

·         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.

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

·         Circuses, elephant rides, and animal exhibitions contribute to the local economies of the communities they perform in and help support municipal areas.