Posted 4/21/2014 8:55:00 AM by Mort Gamble
News from editor viewed 676 times
Monday, April 21, 2014 - News
URGENT....
Alert: 4/21/14
More details and contact info on Grassroots tab of this website!
Ketchum, ID: Contact Mayor and City Council to
Oppose Proposed Performing Animal Ban
Officials in the city of Ketchum, Idaho, are discussing the
consideration of an ordinance to ban circuses with performing animals. A
proposed ordinance will be discussed at the City Council meeting on Monday,
April 21, at 5:30PM Mountain time. These discussions are the result
of local students and citizens who have approached the City Council with
concerns about the care and well-being of performing animals.
Please contact the five City Council members (including the
Mayor) to let them know you support circuses that use performing and exotic
animals and request that they not support any proposal that would prevent
circuses from being able to visit Ketchum. Polite e-mails and letters
from Idaho-area Circus Fans are especially encouraged, including those who have
attended circus performances in Ketchum. Sample talking points are
included at the end of this alert, but please use your own words where
possible.
The contact information for the City Council members and the
Mayor are listed below. Thank you for your help!
Ketchum, Idaho City Council:
Mayor Nina Jonas
njonas@ketchumidaho.org
Council President Michael David
mdavid@ketchumidaho.org
Council Member Anne Corrock
acorrock@ketchumidaho.org
Council Member Baird Gourlay
bgourlay@ketchumidaho.org
Council Member Jim Slanetz
jslanetz@ketchumidaho.org
Sample talking points:
The following are suggestions for your correspondence, but
please use your own words, and you do not need to include every bullet
point. Please keep all correspondence respectful.
·
All circuses are required to have a United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) exhibitor’s license. USDA
conducts regular unannounced inspections of performing animals and their stable
areas, and their inspection reports are a matter of public record.
·
Circuses and other animal exhibitors are also
subject to state and local animal cruelty laws in Ketchum and the state of
Idaho. Such regulations provide protection to all performing animals and
allow for the prosecution of those who neglect or mistreat the animals in their
care.
·
Millions of American families support and enjoy
traditional circuses with performing animals, including many who attend shows
in Ketchum. It is wrong to deprive them of the right to choose to do so.
·
If any animal is being mistreated in any environment,
then the right answer is to enforce existing laws and regulations to punish bad
actors, as opposed to punishing an entire industry and the public who enjoy
circuses.
·
A positive, healthy environment is the only
acceptable and successful method of training performing animals.
Therefore, the cornerstone of all circus animal training is positive
reinforcement through praise, repetition and reward.
·
Circuses contribute to the local economies of
the communities they perform in and help support municipal areas.
|