The USDA fined Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus a record $270,000 for violating the Animal Welfare Act on several occasions between June 2011 and Augsut 2011. Field Entertainment the parent company of the circus has settled the case with the USDA and has agreed to pay the fine and re-train animal handlers, BUT they admit "no wrongdoing or violating any USDA policy".
Sooo basically they will re-train employees pay the fine but do not want to admit that they made any mistakes by harming the elephants?
Here is a statement from Field Entertainment:
"We look forward to working with the USDA in a cooperative and transparent manner that meets our shared goal of ensuring that our animals are healthy and receive the highest quality care."
I don't know, but this just seems to be a cop out by both sides not just the circus but also the USDA. The USDA is happy because they get paid and Field Entertainment gets to technically keep a "clean" record. I personally would have felt better if they came out and issued an apology and took some responsibility for their actions.
What do you all think? Is this a fair decision and do you trust they will work with the USDA moving forward to make sure this does not happen again?
No comments:
Post a Comment