Posted 4/29/2015 12:50:28 PM by Mort Gamble
News from editor viewed 1071 times
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - News
Please contact officials to oppose this measure.
On Monday, May 11, the Richmond (VA) City Council will hold
a final vote on Ordinance No. 2014-199. This ordinance, which is attached for
your reference, would ban the use of the elephant guide (also called a bull
hook/ankus) and essentially prohibit circuses and all other elephant exhibitors
from visiting the city of Richmond. As you know, this widely accepted and
humane elephant management tool is absolutely necessary for people to safely
work or interact with elephants in a public setting, whether it is in a circus,
at a fair or in a zoo. Further, proper use of the elephant guide is a
crucial component for elephant management in breeding and conservation programs
and for providing comprehensive veterinary care. In short, elephants are better
off when they can be cared for in the hands-on manner that this tool allows.
All of us who are opposed to such bans need your help.
Please take a moment to contact the members of the Richmond City Council (even
if you have done so previously) with a short e-mail, phone call, or letter, and
encourage your friends and family to do the same – especially those who live in
Richmond or who have been to circus performances or elephant exhibits in the
city. Sample talking points for your correspondence are listed at the end
of this alert, but please use your own words and your own experiences to
politely express your opposition to this elephant ban.
Animal rights activists are trying to get supporters of the
ordinance to attend the hearing and those of us who are opposed need to do the
same. Circus fans, animal industry representatives, elephant
exhibitors and others who want to have the choice to see and interact with elephants
in a free contact setting are urged to attend the May 11 City Council meeting
to testify in opposition to this ban. The meeting begins at 6:00PM and is
located in the City Hall building, 2nd floor Council Chamber, 900 East Broad
Street in Richmond.
As you may recall, the Richmond City Council amended the
ordinance to change the effective date of the proposed ban to 2018, in response
to the recent Ringling Bros. elephant announcement. Feld Entertainment
did not request the change in the effective date; in fact, Feld Entertainment
representatives will once again be at the City Council meeting to testify
against this measure.
If you would like further information with regard to
testifying at the May 11 City Council meeting in person, please contact Mary
Lou Kelly mkelly@feldinc.com or Sarah
Conley at sjconley@gmail.com.
Thank you for your help!
Contact Information
Email addresses for entire City Council and Mayor (to copy
and paste into the “To” field in your email):
Charles.Samuels@Richmondgov.com;
Ellen.Robertson@Richmondgov.com;
jonathan.baliles@richmondgov.com;
Chris.Hilbert@Richmondgov.com;
Kathy.Graziano@RichmondGov.com;
parker.agelasto@richmondgov.com;
Cynthia.Newbille@Richmondgov.com;
Reva.Trammell@Richmondgov.com;
michelle.mosby@richmondgov.com;
askthemayor@richmondgov.com
Richmond City Council Mailing Address:
900 E. Broad Street, Suite
305
City Council Main Phone: (804) 646-2778
Richmond, VA
23219
City Council Fax: (804) 646-5468
Richmond City Council Roster (9 total, plus Mayor):
Michelle R. Mosby, City Council
President
Office: (804)646-5497
Christopher A. Hilbert, City Council Vice
President
Office: (804)646-6055
Charles Samuels,
Councilman
Office: (804)646-6532
Ellen F. Robertson,
Councilman
Office: (804)646-7964
Jonathan T. Baliles,
Councilman
Office: (804)646-5349
Kathy C. Graziano, Councilwoman
Office: (804)320-2454
Parker C. Agelasto,
Councilman
Office: (804)646-6050
Cynthia I. Newbille,
Councilwoman
Office: (804)646-3012
Reva M. Trammell,
Councilwoman
Office: (804)646-6591
Also:
Dwight C. Jones,
Mayor
Office: (804)646-7970
City of
Richmond
Fax: (804)646-7987
(Mailing address for Mayor: 900 E. Broad St., Suite 201,
Richmond, VA 23219)
City Council Website: http://www.richmondgov.com/CityCouncil/contacts.aspx
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.
Tell the City Council members that you are
OPPOSED to any measure that would prevent circuses and other travelling
exhibitors with elephants from visiting Richmond. All animal exhibitors are required to have a
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) exhibitor’s license. USDA
conducts regular unannounced inspections of all performing animals and their
stable areas, and their inspection reports are a matter of public record. In addition, all elephant exhibitors are subject
to state and local animal cruelty laws and permit requirements in the local
cities they visit and the commonwealth of Virginia. Such regulations
provide protection to all performing animals and allow for the prosecution of
those who neglect or mistreat the animals in their care. True animal experts know that a safe and secure
environment is the only acceptable and successful method of training any
animal, including elephants. The elephant guide, sometimes called a bull
hook or ankus, has been used by elephant handlers for thousands of years.
Elephant handlers in zoos, nature preserves and circuses throughout the world
use the guide as an extension of the trainer’s arm along with a voice command. 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. Elephants are an endangered species. Free
contact management of elephants allows for better veterinary care and the most
successful elephant breeding programs utilize free contact and the guide. Proponents of performing animal bans
mischaracterize or misunderstand the facts about the free contact training and
handling of elephants. Most of the organizations that advocate such bans do so
as part of a larger, animal rights agenda which opposes all or most human
interaction with animals.
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