- April 20, 2024
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a formal complaint against Cole Bros. Circus, which is coming to Palm Coast Oct. 25 and Oct. 26. The complaint states: “There is reason to believe that the respondents (including Cole Bros. Circus and Gigi’s Exotics) have willfully violated the Animal Welfare Act.”
Renee Storey, vice president of administration for Cole Bros. Circus, said in a phone interview Friday, Oct. 21: "We feel strongly that the allegations will be dismissed, that we will prove ourselves innocent of these allegations."
Cole Bros. has hired an attorney, and the case was assigned Sept. 15 to Chief Judge Peter Davenport, of the Office of Administrative Law Judges. There is no court date assigned, and an agreement could be reached before a trial would take place.
The alleged violations date to 2006, when the respondents, according to a USDA investigation, failed to have an attending veterinarian provide adequate care to the animals in their custody, leading to one Asian elephant, named Jewell, becoming underweight, “with a prominent spine and body image that was sunken.” The respondents also did not keep proper records of veterinarian treatments, which is a violation of the regulations, according to the complaint.
(Editor's Note: The above paragraph was corrected Oct. 24. Previously, the report said Jewell became "overweight," but she was actually underweight.)
According to a press release from PETA, People for the Equal Treatment of Animals, in 2009 the USDA felt that the case was so serious that the agency confiscated Jewell and also removed another Asian elephant, Tina.
Storey said the allegations are merely misinformation PETA uses "to exploit the situation to its advantage." In fact, she said, Jewell was seen by a prominent elephant veterinarian at the San Diego Wildlife Animal Park in 2007, and Cole Bros. has always ensured that its animals are treated humanely.
The USDA has also cited an elephant exhibitor with Cole Bros. for multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including the use of "excessive force while tugging at" an elephant by digging a bullhook into her flesh.
"We hope that the USDA's action against Cole Bros. puts circuses on notice that if they treat animals cruelly, justice will be sought," said PETA Director Delcianna Winders. "We ask the public not to take children to animal circuses because attendance supports suffering."
The evidence provided by PETA consists in part of a video, which allegedly shows a handler mistreating an elephant. But the handler is almost entirely obscured by the elephant in the footage, which was shot from a vehicle from some distance.
The video was taken "by people who came out to look for something wrong. It is what it is," Storey said.
She added that negative publicity often backfires for anti-circus groups, and that attendance often increases.
"We care very much about the animals," Storey said. "We have a great deal of documentation." She said anyone who is concerned can come to the circus early to see the grounds. Of particular interest could be the tent-raising, which will begin at daybreak Tuesday, Oct. 25, just behind Flagler Palm Coast High School.
A list of the violations named in the charges follows:
Elephants
• Failure to provide adequate veterinary care to an underweight elephant with a prominent spine and sunken body image
• Failure to have records for vet exams and tuberculosis tests
• Failure to handle an elephant in a way that minimizes the risk of harm to the public and the elephant
• Failure to employ personnel capable of caring for elephants
• Failure to house elephants at a facility that could provide for their needs
• Failure to follow recommendations of an elephant specialist
• Failure to store medications properly
• Transporting elephants to another person who was not equipped to care for them against the recommendation of an elephant specialist
• Inadequate enclosures
• Handlers who lacked training and knowledge and weren't regularly on site
Tigers
• Employing a handler who lacked training, knowledge, and experience
• Selling tigers without a dealer license
