Hundreds of Activists to Join Animal Defenders International for ?The Greatest Circus Protest on Earth? When Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Opens at Staples Center

July 20, 2011 06:45 AM?Eastern Daylight Time?

ADI Will Demonstrate the Weapons Used to Train Circus Animals, Including a Stun Gun and a Bullhook

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Animal Defenders International:

?Kids should be empowered to help the animals they love, and as parents, we can facilitate this by choosing entertainment for them that does not involve animal cruelty.?

WHAT:

Hundreds of animal advocates will greet circus-goers at the Staples Center on Wednesday for a massive, history-making demonstration being called ?The Greatest Circus Protest on Earth.? The protest is organized by Animal Defenders International (ADI) and other groups on the opening night of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Los Angeles. Organizers expect this year?s turnout of advocates will far outnumber last year, where more than 300 people came out to ask circus-goers to ?Break The Chain? of circus suffering by staying away from Ringling?s circus performances.

ADI will have on hand and demonstrate a bullhook and stun gun, the weapons used in the violent training of elephants. The bullhook has sharpened metal tips which are used to poke and ?hook? elephants in tender areas of their bodies, and the stun gun is an electric shocking device that can deliver millions of volts of electricity.

?Ironically, Ringling?s new show, called Fully Charged, promises a ?surge of circus entertainment,? but the compassionate public is unaware that it is the elephants who are truly getting shocked with stun guns, hit and ?hooked? with bullhooks in abusive behind-the-scenes training sessions,? said ADI?s Campaigns Director, Matt Rossell. ?Kids should be empowered to help the animals they love, and as parents, we can facilitate this by choosing entertainment for them that does not involve animal cruelty.?

WHERE:	?	Staples Center
		1111 S. Figueroa Street
		Los Angeles, CA 90015
		Map: http://mapq.st/pfjSee
		Demonstrators will meet at the corner of W. 12th and S. Figueroa
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WHEN:		Wednesday, July 20, 2011 6:00 pm ? 8:00 pm
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WHO:		Concerned citizens and supporters of Animal Defenders International (ADI), In Defense of Animals, Last Chance for Animals, Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) along with other advocates.
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SPOKESPERSON:		Matt Rossell, ADI Campaigns Director, will be onsite for interviews and to demonstrate the use of a stun gun and bullhook. Stop Circus Suffering videos are available along with broadcast quality video footage. Contact Matt onsite at 323-804-9920
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NOTES TO MEDIA:		As the leader of the ?Break the Chain? campaign, ADI works with animal rights and welfare organizations across the U.S. to bring awareness on a local grassroots level to the communities in which animal circuses perform. ADI has conducted investigations of circuses all over the world and has produced comprehensive reports, including one in the U.S. called ?Science on Suffering? which details and provides evidence of the inherent suffering of animals forced to travel and perform.
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		For more than 18 years, ADI has effectively produced overwhelming evidence of suffering of animals in circuses as a result of extreme confinement, the constant traveling nature of these shows, and cruel training practices. ADI?s groundbreaking two-year undercover investigation on circus cruelty shocked the world, resulting in major changes in the U.S., South America and European countries.
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		Courts in many countries have used ADI?s evidence to prosecute offenders while governments have been compelled to change laws in favor of partial or complete bans, such as the recent passing of Bolivian law 4040, which prohibits any and all use of animals in Bolivian circuses.
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		Though ADI opposes circuses that utilize animal performers, it remains fully supportive of arts and entertainment and circuses that use only human performers.
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		More information is available on ADI?s website: http://adiusa.org

Source: http://feeds.businesswire.com/click.phdo?i=796f165db482470bd982f37e2ece3330

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