Community Corner
EISENHOWER PARK TRAMPLES FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT ON INDEPENDENCE DAY: Circus Demonstrations Saved by Admirable Cop
EAST MEADOW, NY— Independence Day, a day to celebrate and remember those who fought for our freedom, was met with some reluctance for demonstrators against Cole Bros. Circus.
Long Island Orchestrating for Nature (LION), a Long Island animal advocacy organization that recently succeeded in the cancellation of Piccadilly Circus’ Memorial Day Weekend showings in West Hempstead, was holding a peaceful demonstration against Cole Bros. Circus Thursday afternoon, when police officers threatened to arrest the activists.
The demonstrations, which kicked off Wednesday night at Eisenhower Park, will continue in East Islip today, and then Massapequa, Center Moriches, Bay Shore, the Shinnecock Reservation, Farmingville, and finally Oceanside. LION will be demonstrating at each location and is urging local residents to come and speak out in defense of the animals.
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Local members and supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and In Defense of Animals (IDA) joined the Long Island animal advocacy organization Wednesday night in postering but were unable to distribute literature due to an ordinance attending Nassau County police officers would not cite. All the same, many planned circus-goers turned in their tracks and headed home after seeing LION’s signs. Many others vowed never to come back.
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Though LION cooperated with the officers Wednesday night, things got even dicier on Independence Day.
“We were told last night by four police officers that we were not allowed to leaflet, but that we were allowed to stand with our signs outside of the circus by the parking lots,” Vice President Julie Cappiello, 22, said. “Today, we were not only told we could not hold our signs, but when I asked to see the Nassau County Ordinance that they were citing, I was told the only way I would see it would be on a desk appearance ticket. Then they threatened us with arrest.”
The Nassau County Ordinance eventually cited states “Patrons may not distribute a sign, banner or present any visible audio without the permission of the commissioner or of the department of parks.”
LION questions the constitutionality of this ordinance and sees no reason why such an ordinance should prevent members of the public from holding posters or talking about the issue with the public. Nowhere online or posted in the park is this ordinance mentioned and permit requirements are noticeably absent from the Nassau County website: http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/parks/permits/index.html
“We are very disturbed that on public property we have been told our Freedom of Speech is not applicable,” Cappiello said, “No matter what we are leafleting, whether it is for animal welfare or another topic, it should not matter. My First Amendment right is to speak my beliefs and demonstrate if necessary on any public property.”
“We were very peaceful and will continue having peaceful demonstrations. We offer information and are in compliance with demonstrating laws,” Cappiello continued. “We wanted to resolve this peacefully as well, but there is nothing peaceful about threatening arrest.”
On Friday night, an officer of the Nassau County Police Department discussed the issue with Vice President Cappiello outside of the gates and permitted the activists present to go inside with their posters. While this was challenged by Eisenhower Public Safety Officers, who were visibly taking orders from Cole Bros. employees, Cappiello and other demonstrators were allowed to continue. Though LION is thoroughly displeased with the way the County has been handling this situation, President Di Leonardo and Vice President Cappiello applaud the Nassau County Police Department for giving them back their First Amendment rights.
Cappiello stated that LION has tried contacting Nassau County Executive Ed P. Mangano about his decision to host the circus in the future and requested to work with him on finding more humane events for the County.
“I personally dropped off information to the Executive’s office about the abuse the animals in Cole Bros. Circus suffer and they told the Nassau County SPCA to call me instead. The spokesperson from the SPCA stated that Cole Bros. Circus had better conditions than most barns on Long Island and told us not to go near the animals. Considering the violations of inadequate shelter and improper care Cole Bros. has received, it says more about failure to provide adequate care for animals on Long Island than in the circus. It’s almost as if they not only disregarded the information I gave them, but what was being asked for in the letter.”
Cole Bros. Circus has been cited for multiple violations of the USDA Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including failure to provide adequate shelter for animals, physical abuse of elephants and other animals, and endangering the public, resulting in multiple deaths, one of which being that of a New York Resident.
"Not only are circuses cruel, but public safety is a major concern," said LION President John Di Leonardo, 25. "It was not long ago that a Cole Bros. tiger escaped on the Jackie Robinson Parkway, causing a pile-up and multiple hospitalizations. These animals don't want to be caged. They'll do anything to get free."
“It is not too long ago that we thought slavery of the human species was acceptable,” Cappiello continued. “Animals performing in circuses are just that: slaves for entertainment. Elephants, for example, walk more than forty miles per day, while elephants in the circus are chained for days at a time, able to move only inches. They are often tied down, whipped, electrically prodded and hit with bullhooks to learn tricks and threatened with these items to perform in the circus rings.”
Due to their USDA probation, Cole Bros. is currently prohibited from owning animals. To get around this, they lease animals and trainers from Carson and Barnes, whose head elephant trainer, Tim Frisco, is notorious for beating elephants. An undercover video of elephant training has Tim Frisco screaming:
"Sink that hook into 'em...when you hear that screaming then you know you got their attention... Right here in the barn. You can't do that on the road. I'm not going to touch her in front of 1,000 people... She's gonna ****ing do what I want and that's just the ****ing way it is...."
You can view this video here: WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2KEjdcceng
Their USDA violations can be viewed here:
http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/Cole_Bros_Circus_Factsheet.pdf
“At a time when all eyes are on the NSA, perhaps we should be looking at our local governments too,” said President Di Leonardo, “The level of protection being given to this criminal organization is frightening. They have been put on USDA probation, convicted of violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Animal Welfare Act (AWA), their owner is on criminal probation, and their head elephant trainer is on video abusing animals. Yet, we, the kindly resident tax-payers, are treated as the criminals and they, the traveling criminal enterprise, are given county protection.”
LION currently has a petition asking Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano to cancel the circus showings and refuse to host them in the future. You can sign this petition here:
The town of Southampton banned wild animals in circuses in 2005, and Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, the United Kingdom, Greece, and more have done the same, with Columbia following suit just last month.
“Our generation is the future,” Cappiello said, “and the future should not include animal circuses.”
President John Di Leonardo of Long Island Orchestrating for Nature (LION) has a Master's Degree in Anthrozoology while Vice President Julie Cappiello has two relatives in the Circus Hall of Fame.
Want to join LION in educating the public about Cole Bros. Circus? Contact them at info@humanelongisland.org.
