Veganism | April 10, 2010 | 5 comments

Elephant kills trainer at Pennsylvania circus

source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/10/circus.worker.elephant/index.html?hpt=T2

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EthicalVegan
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By the CNN Wire Staff
April 10, 2010 4:17 a.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Tragedy struck at a Pennsylvania circus Friday after a startled elephant stomped its trainer to death, police said.

People at the Irem Shrine in Wilkes-Barre, which has been hosting the James Hamid Circus all week, rushed to help but not before the trainer sustained life-threatening injuries, said police Lt. Steven Oshefski.

It was unclear what spooked the elephant, but the pachyderm was calmed by those on the scene.

The victim is not being identified until next-of-kin have been notified, Oshefski said.

The incident was classified as a workplace accident and the investigation has been turned over to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

A balloon vendor at the circus told CNN affiliate WBRE that the death was shocking.

"In the 30 years I've been doing my vending, I've never heard an animal killing their trainer and all," said Ed Conrad. "So something must have happened."

Oshefski said the elephant came into contact with electrical wires, but it was unclear what exactly startled the animal.

Animal rights activists decried the use of animals in circuses.

"It should come as no surprise that elephants and other animals sometimes snap and attack circus employees and members of the public," said Robbyn Brooks of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

"PETA has obtained shocking photos and video of circus trainers as they beat elephants and subject them to violent training methods using barbaric devices such as bullhooks," Brooks said.

Circus members observed a moment of silence for the elephant handler who died, WBRE reported. The circus, however, made a decision almost immediately after the death that the performance would go on.


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5 comments // Elephant kills trainer at Pennsylvania circus

  • bking74
  • Follow_me
  • imunbalanced
    • 0
      imunbalanced  

    • we cant act surprised when HUGE, relatively dangerous, wild animals are kept around for our entertainment kill someone. I'm just waiting for Rick Sanchez to suggest we put the elephant down.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • 0
      EthicalVegan  

    • Shrine Circus Elephant
      Kills Trainer

      WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) -- Police say an elephant at a northeastern Pennsylvania circus startled and kicked its animal trainer, killing him. It happened at around 5 p.m. Friday at the Irem Shrine Circus in Wilkes-Barre (WILKS'-behr-ee). The circus wasn't open at the time. Police say other trainers rushed to the area and were able to calm the elephant. They say the public was never at risk. It was not immediately clear what startled the animal. Police Lt. Steven Olshefski says the investigation has been turned over to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday.


      A Message From Pat Derby

      For years PAWS (Performing Animal Welfare Society) has been saying that elephants traveling in circuses are dangerous because of brutal training and treatment. This incident in Pennsylvania is one of many that happen when circus elephants are allowed to travel and are subjected to brutal training methods. Join PAWS in our campaign to banish the use of circus elephants.

      Write Shrine Circus and tell them to stop using elephants in their shows.
      Irem Shrine, P. O. Box 307, Dallas, PA 18612.
      Shriners International Headquarters, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607, email: shrinepr@shrinenet.org.
      .
      Email Shrine Circus: roger@shrinecircus.com
      Write your local Congressperson and ask them to support legislation that would abolish elephants in traveling shows.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • 0
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://www.opposingviews.com/i/elephant-kills-shrine-circus-trainer

      Elephant Kills Shrine Circus Trainer
      Opinion by PETA
      (1 Hour Ago) in Society / Animal Rights

      A reportedly "startled" elephant kicked a circus trainer or groom so hard that he was thrown 20 feet and died of his injuries at the scene. The attack occurred backstage at a Shrine Circus performance Friday evening in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

      The elephant involved is believed to be an African elephant named Dumbo, who was captured in Africa in 1985 and belongs to Terry Frisco. PETA has previously caught Terry's brother, Tim Frisco, beating elephants behind-the-scenes.

      No word yet on whether circus mouthpieces are attempting to claim that the elephant was "playing" with the trainer, but if a "startled" elephant can be this dangerous, imagine the damage that a really angry elephant can inflict. It makes the video that we told you about last week—in which a trainer with the Liebel Family Circus holds a toddler in one hand as she uses a bullhook in the other to jabs an elephant with a bullhook in the other—all the more harrowing.

      This isn't the first time that an elephant has lethally lashed out at the guy wielding the bullhook, and it almost certainly won't be the last. Circuses rely on an abusive training regimen that starts with beatings and intimidation from the time that elephants are still babies and doesn't stop until they've performed their last headstand. Is it any wonder that some of these gentle giants eventually get fed up and fight back?

      PETA has been trying to convince the Shriners to stop using animal circuses as fundraisers for years to no avail, despite the fact that their circuses are connected to a growing list of dangerous and deadly incidents involvingwith wild animals connected to its circuses. Last year, two elephants performing at the Murat Shrine Circus in Indianapolis, Indiana, knocked down a mobile staircase during elephant rides, resulting in a dozen children being treated by paramedics.

      In 2005, a trainer was stomped to death by an elephant used in a Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 2002 and again in 2003, elephants bolted from the Shrine Circus tents and went on rampages in Wisconsin and Michigan, respectively. It's sad to think that this tragic list of deaths and injuries has failed t o make them Shriners come to their senses.

    • 2 years ago
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