MIDWAY FLASH! ... MIDWAY FLASH! ... Los Angeles Bans Elephant Bull-hooks; Ringling Threatens to Dump Date

 L.A. to Jumbo:  Not in Our Backyard!

City council  "swayed by graphic undercover video."

Into a concrete world they go, on their way to Staples Center, L.A., 2009. AP photo.

Come 2017, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, if they wish to continue playing in Los Angeles, will be forced to leave the elephants back in the train, unless by that time they can figure out a way to handle and present the performing behemoths without the use of bull-hooks (or any other similar tools), to the satisfaction of the Los Angeles City Council.

The council today voted unanimously on the ban.  Repeat:  Unanimously.

Feld Entertainment:  L.A. is  "kicking us out of Los Angeles."

Ringling, of course, is already warning it won't return without the menagerie stars. Said Stephen Payne, a Ringling VIP PR operative to the Los Angeles Times, the ordinance will have the effect of  "kicking us out of Los Angeles.” 

The issue has been long debated in Tinsel Town, where the Ringling show  is now reported to be the only circus that comes to town with pachyderms on the bill.

This move will only embolden other city and state governments from coast to coast, who have also addressed the issue, to act likewise.

Said Payne, "Sadly, this ordinance before the City Council we feel is just being driven by a small, vocal group of animal rights activists who are against animals and entertainment whether they’re elephants or any other animal,”

To a degree, he may be correct. But, increasingly, the public is becoming more uneasy about crossing PETA picket lines, about exposing children to elephant acts, particularly given damaging You Tube evidence circulating 24/7.  And there can be no doubt that many young people watch the You Tubes and ask questions, too.

Time for the Felds to explain what "deceptively edited" means

Nor have the Felds helped their cause any by coming out to refute film footage that shows a degree of abusive back stage.  "Deceptively edited," they claimed, never, to my knowledge, ever coming forward with evidence of their own to refute the You Tubes.

This I came across in the Los Angeles Daily News  after posting this story: "Swayed by graphic undercover video showing elephants being prodded with the tools, City Council members unanimously backed a ban on the steel-pointed rod resembling a fireplace poker."  I assume this to be the You Tube to which I refer and have referred in past posts on the subject.

According to Council member Paul Koretz, as quoted on CBSLA.Com, "the hook has a sharp spike attached to it that activists believe is dangerous to the animals and say there are more humane means for controlling elephants available."

Thanks to Don Covington for sending me this news.