Hi,
Our Roots & Shoots group, La Vita è Bella, is in London, Ontario Canada.
http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/lavitaebellaThis afternoon & this evening (in the pouring rain) we protested the Shrine circus which was held at the Thompson Recreation Centre, University of Western Ontario. (Vice President of Admin at UWO is 519.661.3114)
The Garden Brothers Circus protest is on July 20th at 3pm and 6:30 at the John Labatt Centre in downtown London. (JLC Manager is Brian Ohl - 519.667.5700)
If able- please come - everyBODY counts! (if you see any free Garden Bros tickets anywhere, please scoop the whole lot of them and bring them to the protest) Please send this to anyone you know in London, Ontario & please protest circus's that may come to your town.
Protest materials available at
http://www.circuses.com/Thanks for listening & being the change you wish to see in the world.
Peace out.
The following is a letter which we had printed in our London paper last week.
"Goodall joins cry to halt animal acts
World-renowned primate researcher Jane Goodall has jumped into the battle to ban London circus performances using chimpanzees and other wild animals. In letter to Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco, Goodall calls on the city to press ahead with a bylaw that would bar such animal acts.
The letter was followed last week by a phone call to the mayor from Gail Grolimond, executive director of the Montreal-based Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.
Goodall's entry into the battle to ban animal acts follows similar efforts by the London Animal Alliance and other groups.
City councillors have responded to those earlier efforts by requesting a city staff report on what other communities are doing to ban circus animal acts.
A report is due back in December, said Coun. Roger Caranci, chair of council's environment and transportation committee.
"Ottawa put some type of bylaw together last year and it came into effect this year," said Caranci. "We are going to look at what they did and how it worked out."
Now Goodall has added her academic stature to the debate.
The British-born researcher has won international fame for her study of chimpanzee behaviour in the jungles of Tanzania, Africa, more than 40 years.
Beyond that, she has become a champion of protecting the world's remaining wild chimpanzees and improving the lives of animals in captivity.
In her letter, she cites the cruelty employed by the people who train wild animals for circuses.
Kindness and patience work well in training chimpanzees and other wild animals, but time seldom allow such an approach in the fast-paced world of show business, she said.
"Almost all trainers admit to 'breaking' their performers during training. In some cases, the abuse is horrendous."
One example of cruel treatment is the practice of jamming the feet of chimps or orangutans into human shoes.
"Ape feet are not shaped like human feet," she said. Their big toes are like our thumbs."
She tells of one chimpanzee forced to wear ice skates during circus performances for several years.
"Her feet were completely crippled," said Goodall.
Another reason for banning animal acts is the poor living conditions the animals endure, she said.
One supporter of a bylaw to ban circus animals is Ward 6 Coun. David Winninger.
"I think in this age of enlightenment it makes no sense to subdue exotic animals for the entertainment of the public," he said."
