Perth City Council
GPO BOX C120
Perth 6001

[1] page via fax: +61 8 9461 3010

Dear Lord Mayor, Elected Members, and Chief Executive Officer:

Congratulations on your recent decision to prohibit the Stardust Circus from performing on Perth land. It warms my heart to know that you recognize that animals, like us, have wants and needs and that life in a circus cannot begin to meet those needs.

I urge you to do all in your power to reinstate the ban on animal-based circuses in Perth and on all city-owned land. I believe that one day, not long from now, everyone will agree that animal circuses are just as cruel as bear-baiting and other barbaric animal spectacles from the past and that they will be consigned to history’s dustbin without a backward glance. Though the animal trainers would have us believe that they are kind to the animals and use only positive reinforcement, the reality is that life in circuses means chains, whips, cages, deprivation, and loneliness. The animals are denied the ability to make even the smallest decision about their lives. They must work and they must travel, always under threat of punishment. Elephants, who roam for many miles every day and live in extended, loving matriarchal families in their natural homes, will not submit to such misery unless their spirits are broken by beatings and confinement in shackles and chains.

Such unnatural conditions make the animals vulnerable to infection as well. In the U.S., many elephants are infected with a form of tuberculosis that is communicable to humans. Health authorities have quarantined elephants who were scheduled to give rides to children, which would have put them at risk of infection.

Will you lead the way in saying "no" to such cruelty? Perth residents could still enjoy fabulous, world-famous circuses with only human performers—all of whom are willing performers.

I urge you to show Australia and the world that Perth is an animal-friendly destination and a city committed to animal and human welfare.

Sincerely,

Rue McClanahan