Several former employees of Ringling Brothers circus have been speaking out to educate the public about what goes on behind the scenes at the “Greatest Show on Earth.”
Tom Rider
Tom Rider left Ringling Brothers Circus in 1999 after having
worked at the circus for over two years as a barn man for
the elephants. While at the circus, he spent over eight
hours a day with the elephants. Click here
to view Mr. Rider’s Affidavit to the USDA.
Mr. Rider witnessed the constant chaining
of the elephants, and the constant use of bull hooks, including
particularly vicious beatings of elephants, including the
baby Benjamin who later died while swimming in a pond when
his trainer went after him with a bullhook. To
learn more about Benjamin, click here
Frank Hagan
Frank Hagan, who worked for the circus for approximately ten years until August 2004, left Ringling Brothers after a young lion named Clyde died during a long train ride through the extremely hot Mojave desert. Mr. Hagan had begged his supervisor to stop the train to water the lion, but his pleas were ignored. When the train finally came to a stop, the baby lion had died of heat exhaustion. While he was with the circus, Mr. Hagan also witnessed the frequent use of bull hooks on the elephants and their constant chaining.
Archele Hundley
Archele Hundley worked for the Ringling
Brothers Circus in 2006, and left after a few months because
she could not stand to witness the abuse of the animals,
including the horses and the elephants. Ms. Hundley witnessed
a particularly brutal beating of an elephant named Baby.
When Baby would not lie down as commanded, a trainer began
hitting her with two bull hooks. The trainer stuck one bull
hook in the elephant’s ear and the other in the elephant’s
back and then pulled down on the animal with all his weight.
This beating went on for over twenty minutes. Click
here to view Ms Hundley’s Affidavit to USDA.
Robert Tom Jr.
Robert Tom worked with Ringling Brothers
for almost two years, until August 2006. Has said that the
elephants were so scared of certain elephant trainers that
they would urinate and defecate when they saw the trainers
with their bull hooks. Mr. Tom frequently witnessed the
bull hook being used on the elephants, and trainers then
rubbing dirt into the elephants’ wounds to conceal
the bloody sores. Click here to view Mr.
Tom’s Affidavit to USDA.
Margaret Tom
Margaret Tom worked backstage at the circus
and witnessed first hand the punishment the elephants received
for not performing as required. She witnessed an elephant
named Asia beaten backstage because she had defecated during
a performance. Click here to view Mrs. Tom’s
letter to Mayor Daley of Chicago
Jerry Ramos
Jerry Jamos left Ringling Brothers Circus in the summer of 2006 after only a week because of the abuse that he witnessed, including elephants hit with bull hooks, such as a very young elephant named Sara.
> Next page: Elephant Mistreatment At Ringling Brothers
Also watch this video with interviews and circus footage:
| 
