Posted on June 2, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
SAV comment – Scotland has its own Parliament. The English parliament is at Westminster, London. There is always a type of ‘competition’ between the Scots and the English parliaments; and what one often does, you will find it is soon repeated by the other. For so many years we have been campaigning to get wild animals banned from circuses in England. We now predict that as the Scottish parliament has undertaken this ban, England will very soon follow for a ban in England.
PS – we (the English) are always better at football and rugby than the Scots – this is a massive issue between UK sports fans. England-Scotland sporting fixtures are notorious for their conflicts.
For overseas visitors; each nation of the UK has its own flag – you can see the Scottish flag above.
England has the flag of St George as shown here:
When ALL the nations flags are united under one flag – the ‘Union flag’, or ‘Union Jack’ as it is affectionately known; it is flown as a united (UK) front. The Union flag is not just a representation of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland individually; it is a flag showing the combined (nations) force. British forces have always fought together in theatre as a combined force – thus the union flag is the only one ever flown. There is (to many peoples surprise). a right and wrong way of flying this. Look at the positions of the red diagonals on the Union flag below; this (their positions) determines the right or wrong way to fly the flag ! – Here is the Union flag; flying correctly:
Amazing news!
The ban on wild animal circuses is now officially in force in Scotland! As of 28th May 2018, it is no longer legal for any travelling circus with wild animals to make them perform demeaning tricks for crowds.
Thank you for everything you have done to make this long overdue ban a reality! Such a fantastic victory!
But sadly, not all animals are safe. This ban only applies to wild animals in circuses, not domestic animals like horses, birds, dogs and cats.
Right now, Zippos Circus is touring with domestic animals and will be in Scotland from 5th June.
They have 11 venues lined up across Scotland for their cruel shows. By tracking their journey between venues, we have calculated they will cover 1043 miles in Scotland alone – the animals will spend all of those miles in trailers and vehicles.
This is no way for any animal to spend their life! It is known that domestic animals can be stressed on long journeys and that making animals perform tricks repeatedly can cause injury. And of course, it uses them as objects of entertainment.
Take Action to help these animals too!
Protests are being organised at the venues that Zippos will visit in Scotland – today we have been sending out leaflets and posters for these protests.
We must celebrate the wild animal circus ban for animals – your hard work does make a difference! But I can’t help but feel frustration when I know animal circuses in Scotland have not come to an end, as long as domestic animals are exploited.
So let’s celebrate and use that energy to keep up the fight, until all are free!
For the animals,
Nicola O’Brien
Campaigns Director
P.S. Well done to you on this fantastic news! Now let’s help domestic animals in circuses too!
Posted on May 9, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
The Yaarab Shriners are planning to bring a cruel and dangerous elephant and bear show to Jim Miller Park in Marietta, Georgia.
The elephant exhibitor for the circus has a history of failing to meet animal-welfare regulations and of endangering the public, and an expert who observed the bears at another Shrine circus reported that they suffered from ongoing physical and psychological trauma.
Please use the link below to tell the Shriners and the venue to cancel the animal acts.
Shrine circuses should be fun for everyone, right? Well, they’re not fun for the suffering elephant coerced into performing confusing and difficult tricks or the muzzled bear forced to ride a bicycle … yet that’s on the schedule for the Yaarab Shrine Circus performances at Jim Miller Park in Marietta, Georgia.
The elephant exhibitor for the circus, Tarzan Zerbini Circus, has a history of animal-welfare citations and endangering the public. Animals used by the circus have seriously injured children, and an elephant even killed a trainer following a performance.
Then there’s Castle’s Bears—a company that forces bears to perform demeaning and possibly painful tricks. A video surfaced last year showing one of the bears urinating in apparent distress when being pulled by a leash and forced to walk on his or her front legs.
Tell the Yaarab Shriners and Jim Miller Park to drop the animal acts!
Bears and Elephants Don’t Want to Perform for the Yaarab Shrine Circus
This month, the Yaarab Shrine Circus will perform at Jim Miller Park in Marietta, Georgia. The problem? It’s planning to force muzzled bears and suffering elephants to perform confusing and difficult tricks.
The bears are provided by Castle’s Bears, a company that dresses them in ridiculous costumes, muzzles them, yanks them around on leashes, and forces them to do demeaning and possibly painful stunts. In a recent report, an expert who observed Castle’s Bears noted that the animals were managed through “fear, coercion, and punishment,” weren’t provided with proper care, and suffered from ongoing physical and psychological trauma.
As if that weren’t reason enough to drop the animal acts, Tarzan Zerbini Circus—the elephant exhibitor for this circus—has been cited for violating federal animal-welfare regulations, including by failing to provide animals with the minimum required space. Animals used by the circus have seriously injured children, and an elephant trainer was trampled to death by one of the elephants following performances at a Shrine circus.
Please tell the Yaarab Shriners and Jim Miller Park to ensure that the performances go forward without animals.
Posted on April 29, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Elephant Killed After Circus Truck Overturned on Highway Illustrates the Problem With These Shows
Life for an elephant forced to perform circus tricks is far from natural. These gentle giants are bound by chains and shipped like cargo from location to location. Circus employees tie heavy chains around the elephants’ ankles to limit their ability to move, preventing them from lying down or even having social interactions with other elephants. As you can imagine, transporting wild animals is dangerous for not only the animals themselves but also the people around them.
In yet another wreckless circus accident, a circus truck carrying five elephants in Spain was recently overturned on a motorway.
One elephant has been pronounced dead after they rolled off the road and into a ditch,Sky News reports. The four surviving elephants stood over their friend’s body. Elephants are highly intelligent creatures and will often mourn the death of a fellow elephant.
The motorway was closed off for two hours while fire personnel and concerned drivers tried to help.
Two of the elephants involved in the wreck suffered large cuts to their faces and legs. Is an hour of the circus really all that fun when you consider the expense animals have to pay?
The injured elephants are being treated by veterinarians in a public facility and from there, they will be moved to a clinic.
This latest incident is just another example of why circuses that force wild animals to perform are highly unethical and dangerous for all involved.
“This terrible incident symbolizes all that is wrong with the use of animals in traveling circuses,” said Animal Defenders International President Jan Creamer. “Instead of a life in the wild, these incredible animals are being carted around the country, confined and forced to perform.
Please don’t visit a circus with animals and help stop their suffering today.”
We hope that the circus involved in the crash has the compassion to send the four surviving elephants to an accredited sanctuary, where they can live out the remainder of their days in peace (another circus in Spain retired their animals to a sanctuary just last year, so it’s possible!).
The growing majority of the public agrees that they don’t want to watch captive animals perform silly tricks. Over 40 countries worldwide have banned the use of wild animals in circuses, including Scotland, India, Italy, Iran, Ireland, Romania, the U.K, and the Netherlands, so why are we still forcing animals into this horrific life?
If you are looking forward to the day when animals used in entertainment will be just a mention in history books, SHARE this article to spread awareness about what’s wrong with circuses!
Posted on April 24, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Tell Castle’s Bears to End Demeaning Tricks and Release Bears to Sanctuaries
Bears don’t ride bicycles, do handstands, or balance on balls in nature.
Yet Castle’s Bears dresses them in ridiculous costumes, muzzles them, yanks them around on leashes, and forces them to perform demeaning and possibly painful tricks for many Shrine circuses.
Instead of roaming, swimming, and foraging in the wild, the bears at Castle’s Bears are forced to perform demeaning tricks such as riding bicycles, doing handstands, and balancing on balls.
Last year, one was filmed urinating in apparent distress when forced to walk on his or her front legs.
Please join us in urging Castle’s Bears to release the bears to reputable sanctuaries.
Posted on March 12, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Our big news!
Hi Mark,
I am really excited to tell you our big news.
We have changed our name from CAPS to Freedom for Animals!
For 60 years we have been known as the ‘Captive Animals’ Protection Society’. Over that time we have grown to work on more campaigns and influence laws to protect animals.
So we wanted a name that explains more clearly what we do as an organisation and inspires people to take action – and what could be more inspiring than ‘Freedom for Animals’ ?
We have launched our brand new website which has been designed to make it easier for people to learn more about our campaigns and take actions to help animals.
I really hope you are as excited about this change as we are and will continue to work with us to help animals in need.
Until all are free,
Nicola O’Brien
Campaigns Director
P.S. Thank you so much for working with us to help animals. Let’s keep up the fight for their freedom as we enter this new chapter – donate today if you can! www.freedomforanimals.org.uk/donate
Breaking – England to ban circus animals by 2020 ?
Such is the hatred of the British public in witnessing animals being abused in circuses. What a pity the UK government does not have the same views as its citizens, and ban animals in circuses for good.
Here below is a message from Nicola at CAPS – note you can still make donations and make the total even better !
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You are amazing!
Together, we reached our target in less than 24 hours – but the animals still need you…
Hello Mark.
Since I wrote to you last, I am so pleased to announce that CAPS have reached our target for The Big Give matched funding campaign in less than 24 hours!
Thanks to the incredible support of animal lovers like you, we have raised an amazing £4965 to help animals exploited in Christmas events.
I am sure that you will be just as excited as I am by this fantastic news! Thank you SO much to everyone who has given so far – this is the quickest we have ever reached our target through The Big Give. I am totally awed by your compassion, dedication and generosity – it is an encouraging reminder that we are not alone in the fight for animals’ freedom.
If you haven’t had a chance to give yet, don’t worry – you can still make a difference!
Your gift won’t be doubled but every penny you give will still make a big difference for animals. There is so much more suffering to tackle, so many more hearts and minds to change until we can see a world where animals are free.
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 