Long Beach Press Telegram

http://www.presstelegram.com/opinion/20150629/misleading-commentary-on-use-of-bullhooks-guest-commentary

Misleading commentary on use of bullhooks: Guest commentary

Posted: 06/29/15, 3:11 PM PDT

By Stephen Payne

A recent guest commentary by an attorney for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) completely mischaracterizes the use of an approved and humane elephant husbandry tool. Often called a bullhook, a guide or an ankus, the name is irrelevant. It is how it is used that is important. Bullhooks are the most humane and accepted tool for working with elephants in zoos and circuses.

This is not just the opinion of the elephant experts with Ringling Bros., which has more than 145 years of experience actually working with elephants, but also the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which licenses and inspects circuses and zoos, as well as American Veterinary Medical Association, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and other professional organizations made up of experts who, unlike HSUS, actually work with and care for elephants.

Specific to Ringling Bros., our Asian elephants are only cared for by highly trained and experienced professionals, who do indeed use bullhooks. It is because of our ability to closely work with these large yet highly endangered animals, often referred to as free contact, that we are able to provide exceptional veterinary care and have the largest and only sustainable population of Asian elephants in North America.

Readers should also be wary of the opinions of HSUS. This is the same organization that, in the words of a federal judge, participated in a lawsuit against Ringling Bros. parent company, Feld Entertainment, that was “groundless and unreasonable” from its start and relied on hidden payments to their lead plaintiff. In fact, the very photo used with their commentary was their paid plaintiff who, again in the words of a federal judge, “lied about the payments” he received, “was essentially a paid plaintiff,” and, most striking, “was pulverized on the witness stand.” This decade-long legal deception led HSUS and their allied groups to pay Feld Entertainment more than $25 million to settle a lawsuit they should have never brought in the first place.

Rather than listen to the viewpoints of HSUS and other animal rights organizations, California voters and legislators should rely on the knowledge and experience of those with actual expertise on the care and handling of elephants.

Stephen Payne is vice president of corporate communications for Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros. Circus.