::PETA Rapid-Action Center::

Tell Festivals and Fairs to Leave Wild Animals Alone!

At festivals, fairs, carnivals, and other events around the world, many wild animals are denied everything that’s natural and important to them. Often torn away from their families and thrust into a confusing life providing fairgoers with entertainment, they’re forced to give rides, subjected to stressful photo ops with humans, and sometimes even given away as “prizes.”

Wild animals are being exploited at festivals and fairs. But together, we can help them.

Animal Exhibits at Fairs and Festivals Demean and Endanger Living Beings

Photo ops and animal rides at festival and fairs subject wild animals to the stress of transport, unfamiliar environments, often irregular feeding and watering, and crowds of strangers. All kinds of animals suffer when they’re carted from town to town and forced to perform meaningless tricks, likely living in an almost constant state of discomfort, frustration, depression, and anxiety.

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Animal exhibits at fairs and festivals also pose risks to humans. One bear exploited by A Grizzly Experience escaped a fair and wasn’t found for three days, while another clawed a handler’s face in front of frightened spectators. Dramatic video footage (below) shows how a trainer was bitten, clawed, and dragged by a tiger in front of a crowd of elementary school students at a fair in Florida. For a list of incidents involving captive elephants used for entertainment, click here.

Animals have their own inherent worth, personalities, and needs. However, at fairs and festivals, smaller ones like hermit crabs and lizards are given away as prizes with little or no instructions for caring for them—leading many to die within weeks.

Thanks to the efforts of kind people like you, times are changing—but there’s still much room for improvement.

We must make our voices and actions for animals impossible to ignore. If you witness cruelty to animals at any state or county fair, take action right away. Anyone can file a cruelty-to-animals complaint or ask the local animal control agency to check on an animal in distress.

You can help animals being exploited at fairs and festivals today by completing the PETA Action Alerts below.

—Take Action Now—

Speak up for wild animals who are harmed, exploited, or otherwise used for entertainment at festivals, carnivals, and fairs. Using the form below, you can urge numerous festival organizers to do the right thing by leaving wild animals out of future events.

There are multiple opportunities to help. As soon as you take one action below, another will appear in its place. After you enter your information, just keep clicking “Send Message” until you’ve completed all of them. Once you’ve taken every action, share this page with your friends and family members. Encourage them to add their voices in order to help prevent more animals from becoming a sideshow at a festival or fair.

 
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Celebrating the Past Shouldn’t Include Abusing Elephants Today

Please urge festivals to leave elephant rides out of their upcoming schedules.
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