Dear Editor,
Despite receiving several animal welfare citations from USDA, the C&M Circus (Culpepper and Merriweather) is traveling from town to town in Texas. And it’s coming to Teague on October 17. This circus company was cited for failing to provide the animals with proper veterinary care, nutrition, and shelter. In addition, USDA had confiscated an underweight tiger cub from the circus. And its license was suspended for six months by an administrative law judge.
Wild animals in circuses are often cramped in tiny cages while traveling thousands of miles across the country.
In the wild, tigers do not jump through hoops, elephants do not walk on two legs, and bears do not ride bicycles. Trainers often claim they only use “positive reinforcement” to train them but in reality, using bullhooks, whips, electrical shock prods, or other painful devices is a standard industry practice.
These circuses teach children that it’s acceptable to abuse animals for amusement.
Big crowds and loud noises stress these animals. Bringing these dangerous, stressed wild animals into close proximity to people poses a serious public safety threat.
Nearly 150 municipalities and six states prohibit or restrict wild animals’ use in traveling circuses.
Please do not attend C&M (Culpepper and Merriweather) circus or any other traveling circus that comes to your town.
Contact this circus at 580-326-8833 and politely ask them to stop using wild animals in their shows and send them to wildlife rescue sanctuaries.
Madhu Anderson
Green River, Wyoming
Editor’s Note: The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus has this to say about their animals acts (as posted on their website:
“We are proud to share our lives with animals both in and out of the Circus ring. All of our animals are captive-bred and the majority are rescues. We are licensed and inspected by USDA and our animals are seen by a veterinarian every 30 days. We are lucky enough to have a team of world-class vets all over the country.
“All of our animals are trained using positive reinforcement. In the show you will see animals rewarded with their favorite treats for performing behaviors. No two animal acts are ever the same! Our animals have the choice of which behaviors they feel like doing. Some days that means they do everything asked of them, and other days they feel like making their trainers look a little silly.”
