People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will stage a protest against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at an elementary school in Lafayette Tuesday, according to a spokesman.
The animal-rights group says it will be at Myrtle Place Elementary School at 2:45 p.m. — minutes before the bell rings releasing students for the day — with a protester in an elephant suit sporting a “bloody” bandage around her head. Ellie, as the plush pachyderm is called, will hand out activity books and explain to students “that animals used by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are jabbed with spiked, metal bull hooks and beaten to make them perform difficult tricks that are confusing and sometimes painful to them.”
The Ringling circus is scheduled to perform at the Cajundome April 16 and 17. Lafayette Police spokesman Cpl. Paul Mouton says his department is aware of the peaceful protest, noting officers will be on hand to monitor the event. PETA was not required to obtain a permit “as long as they don’t block the sidewalk or cause a hazard or anything,” Mouton says.
PETA has long been a nemesis of America’s premier circus. The group has a Web site, RinglingBeatsAnimals.com, that contains photographs and videos purportedly taken at Ringling’s Florida headquarters showing the mistreatment of elephants.
“If children knew how animals suffer behind the scenes, their smiles would quickly turn to frowns,” PETA Director Debbie Leahy says in a press release.
... written by PDQ Gomez , April 06, 2010 - 04:02 pm
PETA. People Eating Tasty Animals.
... written by Solutions , April 06, 2010 - 05:11 pm
Nothing says "I'm angry at Barnum and Bailey" than a naked girl in a cage. Thanks PETA for this rediculous, yet still enjoyable protest!
... written by Dennis Carlson , April 07, 2010 - 03:30 pm
PDQ Gomez: Surely you realize that about a million people before you also thought they were the first "clever" person to come up with that sophomoric acronym. You bore us.
Solutions: no one was naked. Please read more carefully.
There's nothing "purported" about the hideous undercover video and photos about the beatings inflicted on animals at Ringling Bros. Circus. Former circus employees have come forward because they couldn't stay silent about the miserable lives for animals at the circus.
... written by Carter , April 12, 2010 - 08:23 am
Im so glad PETA does what they do. Its heart braking,I wish the media would pick up on these videos because Im sure it would change the way people look at all circuses. How ashamed we all should be.
... written by T , April 22, 2010 - 02:46 pm
@ Solutions... learn to spell moron.
You must be logged in to post a comment. Log in using your Facebook account or register if you do not have an account yet.
MAY 23 Here's a story in the Picayune about some statistics that must come as a blow to folks who believe that any private school can do a better job of educating kids than any public school: Danielle Dreilinger reports that only 30 percent of the voucher kids are passing. That's less than half of the state wide average, she says. It's an interesting statistic because most of the schools (if not all) taking voucher kids have never had their students' standardized test scores released to the public before.
MAY 23 Stephen Sabludowsky blogs on Bayou Buzz about auditor requests here. Recently the state GOP started crowing about a request from the Legislative Auditor, claiming they were being targeted because of their anti-tax stance. (Uh, your what?) Denial and hyperbole aside, the state Democratic party blew holes in that theory with an email announcing they'd received the same request, Sabludowsky writes here.
MAY 23 Jim Brown blogs about the senate race in this post. He says that, given Bobby Jindal's "lack of traction" on the national stage, it might make more sense for the governor to consider running against Mary Landrieu for the senate seat. Since Tim Teeple left the Cassidy team, it makes sense he might land on a Jindal for Senate team, Brown opines.
MAY 23 In this Louisiana Voice post, blogger Tom Aswell writes of rumors that his nemesis, state Superintendent of Education John White, may be soon departing Louisiana for a federal post. It's hard to believe, given his performance, Aswell says, but stranger things have happened. An anti-White BESE member says that, if true, White is quitting before he can be fired.
MAY 23 In this post on American Zombie, blogger Jason Berry writes about the Mother's Day shooting. Mayor Landrieu said that "this is not who we are," but the fact is, this is New Orleans, Berry writes. The violence infused in the city is the result of a culture created by "sins of omission or sins of commission," Berry writes. It's not a problem that can be solved by legislating, policing, praying or publicizing, he says: Someone's got to understand what's happening first.
MAY 23 This post in the Westside Journal tells us what Port Allen Mayor Deedy has been up to lately: vetoing ordinances, apparently. This story is most interesting, however, when it delves into a petition that has been circulating around the city lately. It accuses the former mayor of a lot of nasty things; the former mayor says it is full of lies and "broken syntax" which may be a larger offense in his eyes.
MAY 23 This editorial posted in The Advocate is a bit confusing. The writing is poor - definitely not up to the usual editorial writing standard there - and the point is hard to grasp. Apparently, the writer is saying that privatization of state efforts is OK, as long as there is oversight and transparency, but Jindal's not good at that, and the legislature shouldn't over-react. Okey Dokey. Can't they get one of them Pulitzer-winning people to write an editorial?
MAY 23 This post on The Lens gives you links to a new Google Earth tool that allows you to see any spot on earth transform over the past 30 years. Bob Marshall, who covers the coast for the paper, says that in the case of Louisiana's coastline, it's possibly something you don't want to see, because it's not a pretty picture. There are several clips here, showing critical areas erode away. For Marshall, it was vindication for all those times he was met with eye-rolling when he talked about erosion.
There will soon be a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Benny’s Sportshack Supplement Depot, a new concept by Opelousas native Benny Nele. Located at 2002 Johnston St., the supplement shop, smoothie bar and café, featuring hot off the press paninis and wraps, plans to open in late May.
Philip deMahy Sr., a once respected New Iberia ad exec, was sentenced May 2 to spend the next two years (he faced up to 100 years) in a state penitentiary after state and federal investigators found dozens of images depicting children engaged in lewd sexual acts on his personal computer.
This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.
Subscribe to this comment's feed