Members of the Anaheim, CA City Council are considering a request to examine the issue of performing animals in their city.  An ordinance to ban circuses with animals is expected to be discussed at the September 25 City Council meeting, and the issue may be put to a vote at that meeting.  If any Circus Fans or other circus supporters are in the Anaheim area, please attend the September 25 City Council meeting to express your support for circuses with performing animals.

For those unable to attend the City Council meeting, please contact the Mayor of Anaheim and the four City Council members to let them know you support circuses that use performing and exotic animals and request that they not consider such a ban.  Polite letters from Circus Fans and other supporters who have attended circus performances in Anaheim are especially encouraged (e-mail addresses for Council members are not available).   Sample talking points are included below, but please use your own wording where possible.

The contact information for the Mayor and the City Council follows.  Thank you for your help in Anaheim!

Anaheim Mayor and City Council Members

Mayor Tom Tait

City of Anaheim

City Hall 7th Floor

200 S. Anaheim Blvd

Anaheim, CA 92805

Phone: (714) 765-5247 (for Mayor and Council members)

FAX: (714) 765-5164 (for Mayor)

FAX: (714) 765-4105 (for City Clerk’s Office and City Council)

City of Anaheim website: http://www.anaheim.net/title/City+Council/

Mayor Pro Tem Harry S Sidhu, P.E.

Council Member Lorri Galloway

Council Member Gail E. Eastman

Council Member Kris Murray

(mailing addresses for Council Members are the same as the Mayor)

Sample talking points:

The following are suggestions for your correspondence, but please use your own words, and you do not need to include every bullet point.  Please keep all correspondence respectful. 

• All circuses are required to have a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) exhibitor’s license.  USDA conducts regular unannounced inspections of performing animals and their stable areas, and their inspection reports are a matter of public record.
• Circuses and other animal exhibitors are also subject to state and local animal cruelty laws and permit requirements in Anaheim and the state of California.  Such regulations provide protection to all performing animals and allow for the prosecution of those who neglect or mistreat the animals in their care.
• Circuses contribute to the local economies of the communities they perform in and help support municipal areas.
• A positive, healthy environment is the only acceptable and successful method of training performing animals, including elephants. Therefore, the cornerstone of all circus animal training is positive reinforcement through praise, repetition and reward.
• Circus elephants and other performing animals are well cared for and it only makes sense that circuses would take good care of them. In fact, performing circus animals generally are healthier and live longer than their counterparts in zoos.
• Proponents of performing animal bans mischaracterize or misunderstand the facts about the training and handling of circus animals. Most of the organizations that advocate such bans do so as part of a larger, animal rights agenda which opposes all or most human interaction with animals.
• The city of Anaheim should not take away the right to choose whether or not to view animals in entertainment.

If you have any questions, or if you can attend the September 25 City Counci meeting, please contact Mary Lou Kelly at mkelly@feldinc.com.  Thank you!