By Anonymous, submitted on Sat, 25/06/2005 - 12:03
Animal Rights activists were told that they would be physically assaulted, and were verbally abused by the staff of "Bobby Roberts Circus" today, an animal circus visiting Montrose this weekend. The eight activists with placards and a banner were handing out information leaflets about animal suffering at the circus entrance, and stood their ground when confronted with the terrible and intimidating abuse. The eight activists with placards and a banner were handing out information leaflets at the entrance to the circus, and stood their ground when confronted with the abuse.
The Bobby Roberts Animal Circus is visiting Montrose this weekend, and has many captive animals performing in their acts. There are severe doubts about the welfare of the animals, with one horse dying during one performance, and grave concerns about the welfare of the 52 year old arthritic elephant called Annie (pictured above), who is not allowed to move around and is kept in a small enclosure that has an electric fence surrounding it. She is the last elephant in a circus in the UK.
The Animal Rights Activists, protesting the cruel conditions and practices, handed out leaflets to members of the public leaving one performance at the Bobby Roberts “Super� Circus and arriving for the next, and got a very good response from most of the circus-goers.
However after a short time angry staff from the animal circus came out in some numbers to confront the protesters; one burly female member of their staff, with other menacing circus staff around her, was highly abusive, saying that we should move at least 300 yards away from the entrance and made several threats to physical violence including shouting that she would “punch our teeth down our throats�. She also said she had called the police, and that if the police did not move us then she would do so with the support of other staff who she said would be soon arriving.
The Protesters stood their ground, stating that they had the right to peacefully protest in a public place so long as there was no obstruction being caused, and continued to distribute leaflets to the public. Another male member of staff verbally abused one protester, telling him repeatedly to “Fuck Off�, while standing just centimetres away.
Four Tayside police officers arrived some 15 minutes after the circus staff had said they had called the police, by which time the staff had made themselves scarce. While one officer went to speak to the circus employees, another took every-ones names and addresses, running a check on those details stating that this check was due to the G8, and that they believed people at protests of this kind in the run up to the G8 would also be protesting at Gleneagles next month; it seems that the police were gathering intelligence on activists even at a circus protest.
For more info about the cruel practices and terrible conditions in animal circuses in general and about Bobby Roberts "Super" Circus specifically go to:
http://www.captiveanimals.org
The Bobby Roberts Animal Circus is visiting Montrose this weekend, and has many captive animals performing in their acts. There are severe doubts about the welfare of the animals, with one horse dying during one performance, and grave concerns about the welfare of the 52 year old arthritic elephant called Annie (pictured above), who is not allowed to move around and is kept in a small enclosure that has an electric fence surrounding it. She is the last elephant in a circus in the UK.
The Animal Rights Activists, protesting the cruel conditions and practices, handed out leaflets to members of the public leaving one performance at the Bobby Roberts “Super� Circus and arriving for the next, and got a very good response from most of the circus-goers.
However after a short time angry staff from the animal circus came out in some numbers to confront the protesters; one burly female member of their staff, with other menacing circus staff around her, was highly abusive, saying that we should move at least 300 yards away from the entrance and made several threats to physical violence including shouting that she would “punch our teeth down our throats�. She also said she had called the police, and that if the police did not move us then she would do so with the support of other staff who she said would be soon arriving.
The Protesters stood their ground, stating that they had the right to peacefully protest in a public place so long as there was no obstruction being caused, and continued to distribute leaflets to the public. Another male member of staff verbally abused one protester, telling him repeatedly to “Fuck Off�, while standing just centimetres away.
Four Tayside police officers arrived some 15 minutes after the circus staff had said they had called the police, by which time the staff had made themselves scarce. While one officer went to speak to the circus employees, another took every-ones names and addresses, running a check on those details stating that this check was due to the G8, and that they believed people at protests of this kind in the run up to the G8 would also be protesting at Gleneagles next month; it seems that the police were gathering intelligence on activists even at a circus protest.
For more info about the cruel practices and terrible conditions in animal circuses in general and about Bobby Roberts "Super" Circus specifically go to:
http://www.captiveanimals.org
Re: Protesters Threatened at Animal Circus Picket