circus animals

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Escaped Circus Elephant Goes Exploring in Montana Town

Viola the Asian elephant, spooked by a car backfire, was later reunited with her mate

(Newser) - An elephant literally wandered the streets of Butte, Montana, on Tuesday before she was returned to the circus from which she escaped. The pachyderm had quite the adventure, carefully treading across multi-lane roads, visiting the parking lot of a casino, leaving what NBC Montana calls "a surprise" on a...

Day at the Circus Turns Chaotic: 'Everyone Started Running'
Screams as Circus Bear
Attacks Its Trainer
VIDEO
Oct 25, 2019 8:45 AM CDT

Screams as Circus Bear Attacks Its Trainer

Performance was taking place in Olonets, Russia

(Newser) - Spectators at a Russian circus performance got more than they bargained for this week when a bear abruptly attacked its trainer during the show. NBC News and the AP report the incident took place in Olonets on Wednesday, during what appeared to be a calm scene up until the moment...

Sorry, You Can't Buy Fur in Calif.

Beginning in 2023, clothes, shoes, and handbags can't be made with fur

(Newser) - California will be the first state to ban the sale and manufacture of new fur products and the third to bar most animals from circus performances under a pair of bills signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The fur law bars residents from selling or making clothing, shoes, or handbags...

2 Zebras Escaped the Circus, With 2 Different Fates

One animal was captured; the other was shot dead on a German highway

(Newser) - Two zebras busted out of a German circus Tuesday night, but only one of them was brought back alive. Rostock police say the runaway that didn't make it back ended up on a local highway Wednesday, wreaking havoc in traffic, damaging vehicles, and even spurring a car accident when...

Nation's Last 4 Circus Elephants Just Got Good News

Denmark will pay to send them into a comfy retirement

(Newser) - Ramboline, Lara, Djunga, and Jenny should be jumping for joy with the news that Denmark's last four circus elephants are now government property. The country's Ministry of Environment and Food has paid two circuses the equivalent of $1.6 million to acquire the elephants, reports the BBC . Their...

Jaws Drop as Circus Finds Way to Ditch Live Animals

Circus Roncalli is breaking new ground

(Newser) - Go to the Circus Roncalli, and you'll see animals—like a floating ring of horses and an oversized goldfish swimming right by. Sound unreal? You're right. The German production uses 3-D holograms at a time when activists and governments are cracking down on cruelty to animals in circuses,...

7 Injured by Startled Pittsburgh Circus Camel

2 kids, 1 adult were riding it at the time

(Newser) - Seven people, most of them children, were injured when a startled camel started bucking during a Pittsburgh circus. Two children and an adult were riding the camel during an intermission Sunday at the Shrine Circus at PPG Paints Arena when it became startled, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The newspaper says...

Ringling Elephants Taking an Early Retirement Package

Touring pachyderms will head to Florida in May instead of waiting for 2018

(Newser) - The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is ending its elephant acts a year and a half early and will retire all of its touring elephants in May. The move comes amid increasing scrutiny on circus elephant acts, with local governments passing "anti-circus" and "anti-elephant" ordinances in...

Ringling Bros. Is Dumping Its Iconic Elephants

America's most-famous circus says the animals will be phased out by 2018

(Newser) - A day after some critics laid into Prince William for visiting an animal sanctuary that reportedly uses elephants to entertain tourists , America's most famous circus group is expected to officially announce today it's dropping its own pachyderms. The parent company for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus...

Circus 'Pandas' Were Really Painted Dogs

Chow chow pups were being used in traveling circus

(Newser) - With more paint and a couple of horses, they could have had zebras, too: A pair of chow chow puppies dyed black and white looked enough like pandas to fool visitors to a traveling circus near Milan, officials in Italy say. Forestry officials—who investigate many animal cases in Italy—...

Mexico Lawmakers Ban Circus Animals
Mexico Lawmakers
Ban Circus Animals
Dec 12, 2014 3:30 PM CST

Mexico Lawmakers Ban Circus Animals

Overwhelming vote aimed at fighting mistreatment of animals

(Newser) - Mexico's congress has passed legislation to ban the use of animals in circuses across the country. The lower chamber's vote yesterday followed one earlier in the week by the Senate and came six months after Mexico City passed a similar ban that is to go into effect next...

Elephant Sanctuary Founder Crushed by Old Friend

Former juggler Jim Laurita gave circus animals a home

(Newser) - The remarkable life of Jim Laurita, a circus juggler turned veterinarian who founded an elephant sanctuary to care for his old friends, has been brought to a premature end by one of the animals he loved. The 56-year-old was found dead yesterday at the Hope Elephants sanctuary in Hope, Maine,...

Animal Rights Group Pays Circus $9.3M

ASPCA settles lawsuits with Ringling Bros.

(Newser) - An animal rights group has paid $9.3 million to settle two federal court cases over the treatment of circus elephants, CNN reports. Feld Entertainment Inc., which owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is trumpeting the settlement with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals...

Freezing Elephants 'Saved' by Vodka

After trailer catches fire in Siberia, Russia's favorite drink keeps them warm

(Newser) - Sometimes you really need a drink. One of those times: When your truck has caught fire and you're standing by the side of a Siberian highway in freezing weather with frostbite setting in. That's the predicament a pair of Indian elephants found themselves in, and their quick-thinking handlers...

China Bans Animal Circuses
 China Bans Animal Circuses 
Jan 19, 2011 1:59 AM CST

China Bans Animal Circuses

And no more monkey meat on the human menus at zoos

(Newser) - Monkey-fighting is off the agenda and monkey meat is off the menu at zoos and circuses in China. An animal welfare law taking effect this month bans animal performances at zoos and other attractions, and bans zoos from serving dishes made from rare animals, the Telegraph reports. Wildlife parks will...

Circus Lion Attack Caught on Tape

Trainer currently in stable condition

(Newser) - An American family got a lot more than it bargained for at a Ukraine circus last weekend, when a lion attacked its trainer—and the family got it all on video. First one lion, then another, lunges and bites the trainer as other circus workers hose down the animals to...

Thief Dumps Stolen Tiger, Camels

 Thief Dumps 
 Stolen Tiger, 
 Camels 
too much work dept?
Jun 23, 2010 5:35 AM CDT

Thief Dumps Stolen Tiger, Camels

Gave zoo animals food, water then ditched them

(Newser) - Apparently taking care of two camels and a tiger didn't turn out to be quite what one thief expected: Three days after the animals were stolen on their way back home to a Canadian zoo from a circus performance in Nova Scotia, police found Jonas the tiger and camels Todd...

Runaway Elephant Goes Swimming, Shopping

Footloose pachyderm tours downtown Zurich

(Newser) - An escaped elephant went on a tour of downtown Zurich yesterday evening, spending an hour on the loose before police apprehended her. Sabu, a 26-year-old female from the Swiss national circus, cooled off in Lake Zurich before roaming the streets of the business district and doing a little window-shopping on...

Russian Chimp Goes to Rehab
 Russian Chimp Goes to Rehab 
too much booze, smoking
Feb 26, 2010 11:34 AM CST

Russian Chimp Goes to Rehab

Zhora got addicted to cigarettes, beer

(Newser) - Don’t feel bad, Amy Winehouse: Even apes have to go to rehab sometimes. At least one Russian chimpanzee did, if a Reuters report is to be believed. According to a Russian newspaper, Zhora got aggressive at his first home—a circus—before being sent to a zoo, where he...

Loose Zebra Causes Havoc in Atlanta

Ringling Bros. circus animal apprehended on congested highway

(Newser) - An escaped Ringling Brothers circus zebra led police on a mile-long high-speed chase yesterday in Atlanta, interfering with traffic on the city’s already congested Interstate. The episode lasted about 40 minutes, the AP reports. “All of a sudden a freaking zebra comes running down the street like a...

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