Elephants giving rides at this year’s Kansas City Renaissance Festival were abused, says Animal Defenders International
October 6, 2014, BONNER SPRINGS, KS – Elephants supplied for rides at this year’s Kansas City Renaissance Festival have been filmed by Animal Defenders International (ADI) being beaten by their handler, Mike Swain, during training. ADI is asking the public not to pay for the elephant rides.
Jan Creamer, ADI President: “We are appealing to the public not to pay to ride abused elephants. Paying for the rides pays for this appalling and unacceptable cruelty. We believe that once people see how these animals suffer behind the scenes, they will not endorse such behavior and hope that event organizers will take a responsible position and end the rides.”
ADI has released a video about the suffering behind the rides, “No Fun for Elephants,” with award-winning TV legend Bob Barker, who observes: “To many, it looks like harmless fun, but elephants pay a heavy price for the few minutes of entertainment they provide when giving rides. Isn’t it especially tragic when animals are suffering and being abused simply to entertain us?”
ADI supporters will be present at the fair to educate the public with leaflets and the video, and are urging the Kansas City Renaissance Festival to cancel the elephant rides at this year’s festival and all future events. Event organizers have been invited to watch the No Fun For Elephants DVD and online video.
http://bitly.com/nofunforelephants
Elephant rides have recently been abandoned by several events after responsible board members viewed the evidence, including Orange County and Los Angeles County Fairs, the city of Fountain Valley, CA, and Santa Ana Zoo.
On Saturday, October 11, 2014 local supporters of ADI will be outside the Kansas City Renaissance Festival urging visitors to enjoy the festival but not support the elephant rides.
What: Elephant ride outreach at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival
When: Saturday, October 11, from noon – 2:00pm
Where: Kansas City Renaissance Festival
633 N. 130th Street, Bonner Springs, KS 66012
About Animal Defenders International
http://www.ad-international.org
With offices in Los Angeles, London and Bogota, ADI campaigns across the globe on animals in entertainment, providing technical advice to governments, securing progressive animal protection legislation, drafting regulations and rescuing animals in distress. ADI has a worldwide reputation for providing video and photographic evidence exposing behind-the-scenes suffering in the industry and supporting this evidence with scientific research on captive wildlife and transport. ADI rescues animals and educates the public.
