The Education and Human Services Committee of the Richmond, VA City Council will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 19, and a discussion of Ordinance No. 2014-199 is currently on the agenda. The ordinance would essentially prohibit circuses from exhibiting elephants by banning the use of the elephant guide (also called a bull hook/ankus).  If this ordinance is passed, it would prevent Ringling Bros. and other circuses from visiting Richmond by preventing the use of a widely accepted elephant management tool which is absolutely necessary to safely display elephants in a public setting.  The effect of any bull hook ban is to ban elephants and the circus.  A recent news article by the Richmond Times-Dispatch outlines local activist efforts to pass the ordinance and ban circus animals: http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/richmond-council-to-consider-banning-prods-used-to-control-circus/article_9410501e-1efc-5769-9604-720adb02ef7e.html.

Please take a moment to contact the members of the Richmond City Council with a short e-mail, phone call, or letter, and encourage your friends and family to do the same – especially those that live in Richmond or who have been to circus performances in the city.  Sample talking points for your correspondence are listed at the end of this alert, but please use your own words and your own experiences as a circus animal supporter to politely express your opposition to an elephant ban. 

Thank you very much for your help, and if you have any questions, please contact Mary Lou Kelly at mkelly@feldinc.com.  If anyone in the Richmond area is available to testify at the November 19 Committee meeting in support of elephants in circuses, please contact Mary Lou as well.

Contact Information

 Email addresses for entire City Council and Mayor (to copy and paste into the “To” field in your email):

Charles.Samuels@Richmondgov.com; Ellen.Robertson@Richmondgov.com; jonathan.baliles@richmondgov.com; Chris.Hilbert@Richmondgov.com; Kathy.Graziano@RichmondGov.com; parker.agelasto@richmondgov.com; Cynthia.Newbille@Richmondgov.com; Reva.Trammell@Richmondgov.com; michelle.mosby@richmondgov.com; askthemayor@richmondgov.com

Richmond City Council Mailing Address:

900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305                                                     City Council Main Phone: (804) 646-2778

Richmond, VA  23219                                                                      City Council Fax: (804) 646-5468

Richmond City Council Roster (9 total, plus Mayor):

Charles Samuels, City Council President                                 Office: (804)646-6532
Ellen F. Robertson, City Council Vice President                   Office: (804)646-7964

Jonathan T. Baliles, Councilman                                                 Office: (804)646-5349

Christopher A. Hilbert, Councilman                                          Office: (804)646-6055

Kathy C. Graziano, Councilwoman                                            Office: (804)320-2454

Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman                                                 Office: (804)646-6050

Cynthia I. Newbille, Councilwoman                                          Office: (804)646-3012

Reva M. Trammell, Councilwoman                                           Office: (804)646-6591

Michelle R. Mosby, Councilwoman                                          Office: (804)646-5497

Also:

Dwight C. Jones, Mayor                                                                Office: (804)646-7970

City of Richmond                                                                              Fax: (804)646-7987

(Mailing address for Mayor: 900 E. Broad St., Suite 201, Richmond, VA  23219)

City Council Website: http://www.richmondgov.com/CityCouncil/contacts.aspx

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.

·         Tell the City Council members that you are OPPOSED to any measure that would prevent circuses and other travelling exhibitors with elephants from visiting Richmond.

·         All circuses are required to have a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) exhibitor’s license.  USDA conducts regular unannounced inspections of all 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 the local cities they visit and the commonwealth of Virginia.  Such regulations provide protection to all performing animals and allow for the prosecution of those who neglect or mistreat the animals in their care.

·         Millions of American families support and enjoy traditional circuses with elephants and other exotic animals, including many thousands who attend shows in Richmond.  It is wrong to deprive them of the right to choose to do so.

·         Circuses and other traveling exhibitors with performing animals contribute to the local economies of the communities they perform in and support hundreds of jobs for local arena and other workers.

·         If any animal is being mistreated in any environment, then the right answer is to enforce existing laws and regulations to punish bad actors, as opposed to punishing an entire industry and the public who enjoy circuses.

·         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.

Thank you!