Connecticut Bill Passes #1

By COLIN POITRAS Courant Staff Writer April 24 2007 As the birthplace of P.T. Barnum, and the one-time home of the ivory piano key industry, Connecticut has a long, sometimes painful history with elephants. On Monday, animal advocates scored a legislative victory they hope will make the association between man and beast a bit less painful. A bill that makes it a crime for animal trainers to use sharp, pointed bullhooks to control circus elephants passed the legislature's judiciary committee Monday by a 22-17 vote. If the bill becomes law,Connecticut will be one of the first states in the country to ban the use of such devices. Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island, Nebraska and New York City are considering similar bans. Representatives of the circus industry say the bullhook, also known as an ankus, is a harmless tool used to get an elephant's attention and direct commands. Animal rights activists say it is a cruel device that trainers use to hook into the animal's wrinkled flesh to inflict pain so the animal will respond. "A vote for this bill is a vote to ban the circus coming to Connecticut with elephants," said Carroll J. Hughes, a lobbyist for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, which is coming to Hartford May 9 for a four-day run. "The only cruelty here is being done against the families and children of this state who have the right to see a circus just as their ancestors did," Hughes said. State Rep. Diana S. Urban, D-North Stonington and the bill's sponsor, objects to the industry's defense of the bullhooks. She believes there are painless wands and other implements available that are equally effective. "We used to stick kids down chimneys to clean them too; we don't do that anymore," Urban said while awaiting results of Monday's vote. "Saying we must allow it because that's the way we've always done it - I have no patience for that." The proposed bill makes it a Class A misdemeanor for people to use any device on an elephant that may reasonably be expected to harm the animal by "damaging, scarring or breaking the elephant's skin." People who violate the law can be punished by up to a year in prison and a fine of $2,000. The bill also makes it a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in prison if a person who "houses, possesses or travels with an elephant" or uses an elephant in a traveling show or circus to possess such a device. Sen. Edwin A. Gomes, who represents Bridgeport, hometown of Barnum, the great-grandfather of the modern circus, said he couldn't find it in himself to cast a vote that might stop a circus from ever coming to town. State Rep. James F. Spallone, D-Essex, said his town and its Ivoryton section has a proud history of using elephant ivory for economic gain through the manufacture of piano keys. But Spallone said he was voting for the bill, acknowledging that it was a step forward. "Things evolve and change over time," Spallone said. "There may be better ways to control elephants than what we are doing." Connecticut's only privately licensed owner of Asian elephants, Robert Commerford of Goshen, said he has invested a half-million dollars providing his three pachyderms with a heated barn and tens of thousands more on veterinarian bills for the elephants and other species in his exotic menagerie that includes a giraffe, kangaroo, monkeys, camels and antelope. Using the bullhook is like using spurs on a horse, he said. When used properly, it doesn't hurt the animal. The 2-foot long metal hook, which looks similar to a fireplace poker, helps control the elephants, Commerford said. "A bullhook is an extension of the handler's arm," Commerford said. "Imagine you're a person weighing 150 pounds and you're standing next to an elephant weighing 12,000 pounds. If you're 6 feet tall, the elephant next to you is 2 feet taller than you." Commerford's family makes a living traveling up and down the East Coast showing the "traveling zoo" at fairs and other events. His elephants have also been used in television commercials and movies. "It's sad they're making a cruelty thing out of this when it's not cruel," Commerford said. "There are plenty of laws already on the books for animal cruelty. This law is redundant." Mike Naughton YANKEE DOODLE CIRCUS PO Box 440 Slingerlands, New York 12159