PETA wants circus to end relationship with trainer
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals warned Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus to stop leasing tigers from a man under investigation for mistreating elephants on Tuesday.
PETA sent a letter to Nicole Feld, executive vice president of Feld Entertainment, which owns the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, urging her to stop leasing animals from trainer Lance Ramos, also known as Lancelot Kollmann.
Feld Entertainment responded to the letter late Tuesday, stating that 10 of the 30 tigers used in its three circus units are owned by Kollmann and that all tigers have been inspected by federal, state and local authorities over 35 times since 2006 and were found to be well cared for, Feld Entertainment Corporate Communications employee Amy McWethy said in a news release to the Daily Herald.
Ringling is performing at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont this week.
According to PETA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's confiscated Kollmann's 21-year-old elephant, Ned, on Nov. 8 in Florida. The elephant was reportedly underweight and badly undernourished. Ringling is leasing tigers from Kollmann, who has a long history of violating the federal Animal Welfare Act. PETA has encouraged the USDA to pursue criminal charges against Kollmann.
"While we are certain that many of the exhibitors from whom you lease animal acts have their own baggage of animal abuse and neglect, Kollmann's abysmal record makes him one of the worst," s aid RaeLeann Smith, PETA's circus and government affairs specialist in an e-mail to Feld.
McWethy stated that since 2006, Kollmann's tigers have been under their veterinary care, and "before the tigers were brought to Ringling Bros. we sent our own veterinarians to visually evaluate the big cats that were under consideration and they were found to be healthy."
According to Smith, Kollmann has also been cited by the USDA for failure to provide veterinary care to injured animals; causing trauma, harm, and lesions to an improperly restrained jaguar; unsanitary conditions; and failure to provide adequate shelter and clean water.
McWethy added that the health and well being of Ringling Bros. animals is a "top priority" and that Ringling Bros. has never been found in violation of the Animal Welfare Act, and often exceeds federal regulations on the care of its animals.