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  • WEDNESDAY MAY 18 2005 2:45 PM

Cole Bros. Circus Bows to Animal Rights

Submitted by Olivia

Edited by Christopher

Love them or hate them, you have to admit that PETA's dedication to animal rights gets results. In direct response to PETA's long term campaign against animals used in circuses, Cole Bros. Circus will no longer use exotic animals in their shows.

"It's been a tradition every year -- we've had elephants and tigers. But times have changed, and we're hoping to bring more action," West said. "All the animal rights people -- I hate to say this -- but they've won the war."


Although the circus will still use some animals in their shows—such as cute, furry domestic kitties—PETA is still pretty psyched about their victory.

"When the public learns how animals in a circus suffer they don't want to support that and that's where PETA's focus has been," spokeswoman Lisa Wathne said.

"This is a reflection of how times have changed, and it's great that they're doing that," she said. "I think it's very admirable that Cole Bros. is changing with the times."


Cole Bros. does not expect children to riot when they can't see magnificent exotic animals humiliated for their amusement—they promise that they have plenty of humans to do it instead.

Hat tip: Vegan Porn.

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Comments
crispy

crispy

NEWSWIRE

Philadelphia, PA

MAY 18, 2005 03:14 PM

Do the clowns juggle these kittens?

Seriously, though ... who the hell are the Cole Brothers and how did they get a circus? I always thought they were a little shady.

Good for PETA.

Kosomot

kosomot

Pompano Beach, FL
November 2003

MAY 18, 2005 03:22 PM

I always feared the circus, but this is good news. Now they have to get the big one to follow suit.

AndrewB

AndrewB

Victoria, BC
August 2003

MAY 18, 2005 03:49 PM

Excellent news! biggrin

thefreak

thefreak

NEWSWIRE

Gardner, MA

MAY 18, 2005 04:05 PM

Gotta love PETA... whatever

I'm going to paraphrage Greg Proops here to fit my point when it comes to people like PETA and the state of the world today.

"I'm going to step over this disgusting homeless person, and pet this cute little kitty! love "

'Nuff said.

-TM

DopeSpike

dopespike

Columbus, OH
October 2003

MAY 18, 2005 04:05 PM

I guess it's a good idea that they stopped before PETA started firebombing them.

aktrekker

aktrekker

Spokane, WA
December 2004

MAY 18, 2005 04:20 PM

Someone needs to firebomb PETA. shocked

mamet

mamet

Charleston, SC
March 2005

MAY 18, 2005 04:22 PM

Well it's about time. Yay PETA.

I'd like to be a member of PETA, but cannot, as a friend and I have a pact of Mutually Assured Destruction: I cannot join PETA and he cannot join the NRA.

Vestril

Vestril

Coronado, CA
February 2003

MAY 18, 2005 04:30 PM

hurray, one less reason to keep these animals alive--once we get rid of those evil Zoo's no one at all will care about them and we can go about totally wiping out their natural habitats biggrin

s5

s5

STAFF

San Francisco, CA

MAY 18, 2005 04:33 PM

thefreak said:
"I'm going to step over this disgusting homeless person, and pet this cute little kitty! love "



i assure you that people tend to be equally indifferent when it comes to animal torture and the daily suffering of the poor.

Baletempest

Baletempest

United Kingdom
February 2005

MAY 18, 2005 04:50 PM

DopeSpike said:
I guess it's a good idea that they stopped before PETA started firebombing them.



You're thiking of the ALF, PETA do not endulge in violence, its all peaceful (as far as I know).

Now all they have to worry about is how to rehouse the animals... still at least they will be helping to conserve endangered species.

ansia

ansia

Australia
June 2004

MAY 18, 2005 05:16 PM

A couple of comments here are kind of irritating.

Anyway ... This news makes me happy. It's great that PETA gets results.

Re. thefreak's comment above ... not sure about your intentions here. Maybe you are just trying to be funny ... But just because one particular organisation is devoted to animal welfare does not mean that they are indifferent towards homeless people nor does it take anything away from the poor. It's PETA's choice to focus on animal rights. If it bothers you so much, why not start something like PETHP? confused

thefreak

thefreak

NEWSWIRE

Gardner, MA

MAY 18, 2005 05:39 PM

ansia said:
Re. thefreak's comment above ... not sure about your intentions here. Maybe you are just trying to be funny ... But just because one particular organisation is devoted to animal welfare does not mean that they are indifferent towards homeless people nor does it take anything away from the poor. It's PETA's choice to focus on animal rights. If it bothers you so much, why not start something like PETHP? confused



Point made and acknowledged...My comment was meant to be a bit snarky, yes. I can side w/PETA on some things, but when they always take the stance of "EVERY CIRCUS ANIMAL IN EVERY CIRCUS WORLDWIDE IS ABUSED 24 HOURS A DAY" it just seems ludicrous. I just think sometimes they put animals on a pedestal while ignoring the rest of the world around them.

Before I get ripped to shreds in this thread, lemme clear a few things. I love animals. I think PETA has a sound argument in fighting against circus animal cruelty. However, to harass and protest every circus that uses animals because of the actions of a few seems like a waste of resources that could be spent elsewhere.

-TM

JusticeClown

JusticeClown

San Francisco, CA
July 2004

MAY 18, 2005 05:47 PM

And cole brothers will put on a better show for it. Animal circuses are a thing of the past and are usually pretty limited and stuck in traditional ruts.

Crim

Crim

HOPEFUL

Portland, OR

MAY 18, 2005 06:12 PM

Baletempest said:

DopeSpike said:
I guess it's a good idea that they stopped before PETA started firebombing them.



You're thiking of the ALF, PETA do not endulge in violence, its all peaceful (as far as I know).

Now all they have to worry about is how to rehouse the animals... still at least they will be helping to conserve endangered species.


But remember, PETA does love to give money to people who do violent things such as firebombing....

Olivia

Olivia

STAFF

Oakland, CA

MAY 18, 2005 06:23 PM

thefreak said:
Point made and acknowledged...My comment was meant to be a bit snarky, yes. I can side w/PETA on some things, but when they always take the stance of "EVERY CIRCUS ANIMAL IN EVERY CIRCUS WORLDWIDE IS ABUSED 24 HOURS A DAY" it just seems ludicrous. I just think sometimes they put animals on a pedestal while ignoring the rest of the world around them.



It is pretty safe to say that exotic circus animals are abused 24/7. Wild animals do not like being in cages and being made to do tricks in order to earn food or under threat of punishment. Surely you can understand that an elephant being dragged around in a cage and forced to do unnatural acts before giant hoards of screaming people is abuse.

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