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Circuses & Public Safety
The animals are not the only ones in danger at the circus. Due to abusive training techniques and lives far from what nature intended, circus animals often become stressed to the point that they become dangerous, lashing out at trainers and spectators. Deaths and injuries from such incidents are not uncommon. Just look at the statistics since 1990: Elephants: 65 deaths; 130 injuries Big Cats: 51 deaths; 170 injuries Bears: 14 deaths; 40 injuries Primates: 2 deaths; 140 injuries
While many of the animals involved in these incidents are shot or otherwise killed, others continue to perform. For example: Misty, an elephant owned by the Hawthorn Corporation. Misty killed her trainer in 1983 and injured another in 1996 while giving rides to children. The USDA identified Misty as a "potentially dangerous elephant" in 1995, yet inadequacies in our current federal regulation of exotic animal acts were not able to prevent the 1996 incident. Misty has performed at circuses in New Mexico as recently as 2002. For lists of incidences of human death and injury at the circus, visit the following web sites: www.circuses.com (individual lists of attacks by big cats, elephants, primates, and bears) Animal Incidents at the Circus (HSUS)
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Animal
Protection of New Mexico, Inc. (APNM)
P.O. Box 11395, Albuquerque, NM 87192
(505) 265-2322 | (505) 265-2488 (fax) | apnm@apnm.org
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