Tell Tenino, WA to say ‘no’ to June 1 circus
The city of Tenino, Wash., near Olympia plans to host the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus at a city park on June 1.
The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus uses wild animals such as big cats as part of their acts and have received numerous citations from the USDA,
including:
- Not having a complete diet plan for big cats.
- According to a court docket, a different tiger cub died before Culpepper & Merriweather had the animal seen by a veterinarian
for refusing to eat. The necropsy showed that the cause of death was a widespread E. coli infection and bacteria in the blood. - A female tiger named Delia delivered three cubs after mating with her sibling. Culpepper & Merriweather did not know that Delia was pregnant until about 10 days before she gave birth and did not
have her examined by a veterinarian.
Please contact Tenino’s mayor and city council and politely request that they not welcome a circus that uses animals.
Tenino Mayor Wayne Fournier: (360) 264-2368, mayor@ci.tenino.wa.us
Tenino City Council members:
- Linda Gotovac: (360) 264-2368, citycouncil1@ci.tenino.wa.us
- Dave Watterson: (360) 264-2368, citycouncil2@ci.tenino.wa.us
- John O’Callahan: (360) 264-2368, citycouncil3@ci.tenino.wa.us
- Jason Lawton: (360) 264-2368, citycouncil4@ci.tenino.wa.us
Animal cruelty is not entertainment, as a recent expose by the Humane Society of the United States found. Its reporter, Karen E. Lange, sums up the situation well: “Without expert knowledge of tigers or training methods, many in the crowd probably feel they’ve seen a fun show: happy, if somewhat lazy, tigers performing for meat treats. Distracted by the excitement of live tigers and by the trainer’s spiel, they have missed troubling signals—the way the trainer’s assistant used a heavy metal pole to prod the tigers to move, the way the “Royal Bengal” leapt from the trainer when he jabbed the meat treat pole at the ground, as though shocked by an electric current. They have not seen what animal behavior experts who watch the same show readily do: a man using threats of pain to coerce wild animals into doing tricks.”
It’s abusive to the animals and can be dangerous for spectators, according to the report.
Photo by Jo-anne MacArthur, WeAnimals.org
