PLEASE DEMAND INVESTIGATION BY THE USDA (SAMPLE LETTER
BELOW.)
According to a whistleblower, on July 14, Clyde, a young,
healthy lion Traveling with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus,
died in a poorly ventilated boxcar while the circus was traveling from
Phoenix, Ariz., to Fresno, Calif.
The train was crossing the Mojave Desert, where
temperatures reached at least 100°F on Monday, July 12. The lions were on
the train for three days without being checked or provided with water.
Clyde's dead body was discovered when the circus train stopped just before
arriving in Fresno. This lion is believed to have died a miserable death
from heatstroke and dehydration. Circus officials reportedly brought in a
U-Haul to remove Clyde's corpse.
This incident is nearly identical to a July 2000 tragedy
in which two of Ringling's tigers injured themselves while attempting to
escape from their cages in an overheated boxcar. The tigers were in
immediate danger because of an excessive rise in temperature.
Please contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
politely ask them to thoroughly investigate this incident and file charges
against Ringling for its chronic failure to provide adequate care to
animals in transit.
SAMPLE LETTER: Remember to include your name and address
and please change some of the words by using info at:
http://www.circuses.com/ringling.html
===========
TO:
Chester A. Gipson, DVM
Associate Deputy Administrator
USDA-APHIS-VS
4700 River Rd., Unit 84
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234
301-734-7833
301-734-4993 (fax)
Chester.A.Gipson@usda.gov (usda.gov)
RE: Thorough Investigation of Horrible Death of Unattended
Lion in Ringling Brothers Boxcar
Dear Dr. Gipson:
According to a whistleblower, on July 14, 2004 Clyde, a
young, healthy lion traveling with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum &
Bailey Circus, died in a poorly ventilated boxcar while the circus was
traveling from Phoenix, Arizona, to Fresno, California.
The train was crossing the Mojave Desert, where
temperatures reached at least 100°F on Monday, July 12. The lions were on
the train for three days without being checked or provided with water.
Clyde's dead body was discovered when the circus train stopped just before
arriving in Fresno. This lion is believed to have died a miserable death
from heatstroke and dehydration. Circus officials reportedly brought in a
U-Haul to remove Clyde's corpse.
This incident is nearly identical to a July, 2000 tragedy
in which two of Ringling's tigers injured themselves while attempting to
escape from their cages in an overheated boxcar. The tigers were in
immediate danger because of an excessive rise in temperature.
I ask that you thoroughly investigate this incident and
file charges against Ringling for its chronic failure to provide adequate
care to animals in transit. Please keep me informed of the actions you
take.
Sincerely,
Go on to Tell Governor
Schwarzenegger You Support a Ban on Ear Cropping
Return to 1 August 2004 Issue
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