Richmond council to consider banning prods used to control circus elephants
By GRAHAM MOOMAW Richmond Times-Dispatch | Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2014 11:42 am
Three Richmond city councilmen have introduced legislation to ban the use of bullhooks in the training or control of elephants, a measure that could have repercussions for circus performances in Richmond.
The measure is designed to stop the use of a tool animal-welfare groups see as cruel to elephants. A memo accompanying the ordinance describes a bullhook as “a rod, the tip of which is steel and resembles a fireplace poker” that is used to “prod, jab, hook and sometimes strike elephants to develop desired behavior.”
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, which performs in Richmond, opposes local legislation to ban bullhooks.
Stephen Payne, vice president of corporate communications for Feld Entertainment, the parent company of the Ringling Bros. circus, called the Richmond proposal “completely unnecessary.”
“It would result in an effective prohibition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey being able to perform in the city of Richmond,” Payne said. The circus has been coming to Richmond since 1919, he said, and its most recent 11-show stint in the city in February drew more than 47,000 spectators.
The ordinance is being patroned by Council President Charles R. Samuels, 2nd District; Councilman Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District; and Councilman Parker C. Agelasto, 5th District. None of the three could be reached for comment Wednesday.
The Richmond SPCA supports the proposed bullhook ban.
“The Richmond SPCA is grateful to the patrons of this ordinance for recognizing the brutality of these implements of pain and the suffering they inflict on elephants,” said Robin Starr, the SPCA’s chief executive officer. “The adoption of this ordinance will further distinguish Richmond as a leader in the humane treatment of animals.”
The ordinance introduced Monday would amend the city’s animal-cruelty statutes to make it illegal to use a “bullhook, ankus, baseball bat, axe, handle, pitchfork or similar instruments or a tool designed to inflict pain for the purpose of training or controlling the behavior of an elephant.” Violations would be classified as a Class 2 misdemeanor, an offense that carries a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail.
The first hearing on the proposed bullhook ban was scheduled for Wednesday at 5 p.m. during a meeting of the council’s Education and Human Services Committee, but that meeting was cancelled Wednesday afternoon.
The ban would not go into effect until January 2017.
“Currently, controversy exists regarding the training of elephants,” the memo states. “Animal-rights groups view use of the bullhook, and negative training methods generally, as cruel and unnecessary. These groups believe that elephants can be trained and controlled through positive reinforcement.”
Los Angeles passed similar legislation in May in response to campaigns from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other animal-rights groups, according to the Los Angeles Times. That ban was also delayed until 2017 to give circuses time to modify their methods or remove elephants from their shows.
The Ringling Bros. circus opposed the Los Angeles ban.
Payne said bullhooks are “long accepted and appropriate animal husbandry tools” approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Brittany Peet, counsel for the PETA Foundation, said PETA is “100 percent behind Richmond’s efforts to improve conditions for animals in circuses.”
“There are only two uses for a bullhook: one is to inflict pain and the other is to inflict the fear of pain,” Peet said.
Payne said the notion that bullhooks are designed to inflict pain is “false on its face.”
“I could inflict pain with a ballpoint pen,” Payne said, adding that animal-rights groups have adopted a “radical philosophy” that’s not in line with the views of professional groups.
Starr said it is not radical to oppose “the use of instruments of torture on elephants.”
Peet said bills like the one proposed in Richmond are “the first steps toward animals being free of the torture that they face in the circus.”
“There’s simply no excuse for abusing elephants, tigers or any other animal for the sake of a few fleeting moments of entertainment,” Peet said.
The council legislation follows a local push to ban bullhooks in Richmond.
A Facebook group calling itself “Ban the Bullhook in RVA” recently published a celebratory post in response to the legislation being introduced.
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