Posted 2/10/2004 2:50:44 PM by Editor
News from Mary Lou Kelly viewed 1275 times
Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - Denver, CO
We urge all members of the Circus Fans of America to help in this effort to defeat this unnecessary and unfair ban.
The City and County of Denver, CO is considering a ballot initiative that would ban circuses with animals from playing in Denver. A local animal rights organization obtained enough petition signatures last year to place this proposed ordinance on the ballot for the primary election on August 10, 2004.
A public hearing on the ordinance was held on January 12 before the Denver City Council. Representatives from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & BaileyÒ provided testimony regarding our animal care practices and policies, and outlined industry regulations that protect performing animals. Other witnesses in opposition to the ban were local Circus Fans, Shriners, a Colorado petting zoo owner, the president of the Animal Welfare Council, and local non-profit charities. Following the hearing, the two major Denver newspapers ran editorials expressing opposition to this ban. The links to those editorials are at
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~417~1888921,00.html and http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion/article/0,1299,DRMN_38_2574281,00.html.
We urge all members of the Circus Fans of America to help in this effort to defeat this unnecessary and unfair ban. If you live in the Denver area, or have friends or family in Denver, please do what you can to help defeat this ban, especially by getting out to vote on August 10. You can also write to the Denver City Council and the Mayor to express your opposition to the ban. Contact information for the City Council and Mayor can be found at http://www.denvergov.org.
A new citizen’s group in Denver, called the Save the Circus Foundation, is organizing local efforts to defeat this ban. The group has a very informative website on this issue at www.savethecircus.org with great ideas on how you can get involved. Information on the Save the Circus Foundation can be found on the group’s website or by calling (877) 898-7750.
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