Charlotte, N.C.--Following discussions with PETA about Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' long history of animal abuse, including citations and fines by federal authorities, Charlotte-based grocery chain Harris Teeter has confirmed that it will not enter into future partnerships with the circus. Fred Morganthall, president of Harris Teeter--which is owned by Ruddick Corporation and operates 200 supermarkets in seven states--told PETA via e-mail this week that while the company must honor its current contractual promotion, "[g]oing forward, we will not be supporting circus promotions. ... I know we already have turned one sponsorship down." As a token of appreciation for looking out for the best interests of real elephants, PETA sent Morganthall a vegan chocolate elephant.
Ringling's animal care record is riddled with animal deaths and U.S. Department of Agriculture noncompliance notices, investigations, warnings, and penalties, including a $20,000 fine for the death of a baby elephant who died after Ringling forced him to enter the ring repeatedly while he was sick and a formal warning for inflicting painful injuries on two baby elephants. Former Ringling employees have reported shocking abuses, including that a chained elephant bled profusely following a violent 30-minute beating with steel-tipped bullhooks, terrified elephants who urinated and defecated in fear at the sound of their trainers' voices, a lion who died in the desert heat in a boxcar, a horse who died without receiving veterinary care, and horses who were tethered and beaten.
Harris Teeter joins Denny's, General Mills, Burger King, Liz Claiborne, MasterCard, Ford Motor Company, and Sears, Roebuck and Co., all of which ended their sponsorships of either Ringling or UniverSoul circuses.
"We salute Harris Teeter for distancing itself from the whips, chains, and loneliness that define circuses like Ringling," says PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich. "A trail of dead baby elephants is something that any business concerned about its public image can do without."
You know, I gotta give you a hand Jason. You are passionate about putting a stop to Ringling having elephants. And even though I think you are fucking irritating, you deserve a round of applause. So let me ask you this, What are you gonna spend your time on when this project of yours is over? Are you gonna continue to air dirty laundry on animal entertainment? Or will you put forth some effort to help out humanity, like starving, disease ridden children in Africa, Asia, China, Mexico, or even the U.S.?
Or what about homelessness? You have a talent, you are persuasive, why not make a difference where it counts? Or are you really just some selfish bastard that only cares about a couple of elephants. What are you gonna do? Huh?
What am I going to do? hmmm... maybe go have a beer with you and see what you are working on. If anything.
I thank you for your applause, even though I am irritating. :)
One thing I hope people take from my blog posts is the idea of what a person can do to help improve the lives of others, no matter if those lives are of animals or humans.
You list some very important issues in the world but you failed to mention what you are doing to improve them. You attempt to put these problems on my shoulders. These issues are (the ones you listed and the ones that I currently work on) not up to one person to take on - it is up to everyone - including you, to do what we can everyday to help both human and animals.
So, instead of putting the worlds problems on my shoulders - why not let me know what you are working on and maybe together we can join forces and face another important issue.
It really doesn't matter to me if I am found to be irritating to you or to other people because at the end of the day the only thing that matters is what change in the world has been created. You may not agree with what I am currently working on but remember we are in this world together - so I ask you, what are you doing right now to make the world a better place?