From Kari Johnson

February 12, 2008 To: Board of Supervisors From: Pete McHugh Supervisor, District Three Subject: Referral on ordinance to promote the humane treatment of wild, exotic and rodeo animals RECOMMENDED ACTION: Refer to the Administration a report back to the Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation (HLUET) Committee that identifies and analyzes the operational and legal issues of a County ordinance that promotes the humane treatment of wild, exotic and rodeo animals. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION: Community members have approached my Office to have the County enact an ordinance that promotes the humane treatment of wild, exotic and rodeo animals. They want an ordinance that would ban any traveling show, circus or rodeo that includes wild, exotic or rodeo animals, as defined by the ordinance. Their proposed ordinance would also prohibit the use of painful or torturous devices on animals. I have attached a list of proposed key provisions of such an ordinance. The community members supporting this ordinance believe that animal handlers and trainers in circuses and rodeos frequently mistreat and neglect the animals in their care. They believe this improper treatment often results in the animals’ misery, physical injury, illness, or even death. Attachment B summarizes some of the major issues that they have with animals used in circuses and rodeos. I support in principle an ordinance that bans the use of animals for entertainment and the use of painful or torturous devices on animals. Although I might wish to ban these activities throughout the entire County, I realize these bans would apply only to the unincorporated areas. The community members also realize this fact. I believe, however, that the Board needs more information and analysis on the operational and legal implications of such an ordinance. I am making this referral so that the Board may have this information before deciding whether and how it should proceed. ATTACHMENT A KEY PROVISIONS OF COUNTY ORDINANCE TO PROMOTE HUMANE ANIMAL TREATMENT A County Ordinance that promotes the humane treatment of wild, exotic and rodeo animals would contain these major elements: A ban on any traveling show or circus that includes wild or exotic animals on any public or private land within the unincorporated area of Santa Clara County. A ban on any rodeo from taking place on any public or private land within the unincorporated area of Santa Clara County, as well as any activities that would cause an animal to fall to the ground, such as wrestling, roping and tripping. A ban on the use of painful or torturous devices on animals on any public or private land within the unincorporated area of Santa Clara County. Establishment of fines and other penalties for violations of this ordinance. Exemptions from ordinance provisions for wildlife sanctuaries, veterinarians in the course of carrying out their ordinary business, institutions accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and other appropriate entities. ATTACHMENT B MAJOR ISSUES WITH ANIMALS USED IN CIRCUSES AND RODEOS Some of the major issues with animals used in circuses and rodeos are summarized below (Source: http://www.circuses.com): CIRCUSES Circus animals, most of whom are quite large and naturally active, spend most of their lives in the small barren cages used to transport them, where they have only enough room to stand and turn around. Most are allowed out of their cages only during the short periods when they must perform. Other animals, like elephants, are kept in leg shackles that only allow them to lift one foot at a time. The unrelieved physical confinement that circus animals endure has very harmful physical and psychological effects. These effects are often indicated by unnatural behaviors such as repeated head-bobbing, swaying, and pacing. Climatically, the circus environment is quite different from the animals’ natural habitats, and temperature extremes cause misery and sometimes death. Veterinarians qualified to treat exotic animals are not usually present or available at circuses, and many animals have suffered and died as a result of a lack of proper medical attention. Animal trainers have a standard practice of beating, shocking, and whipping circus animals to make them perform tricks that make no sense to them. Trainers drug some animals to make them “manageable” and remove the teeth and claws from others. The tricks that circus animals are forced to perform—bears balancing on balls, apes riding motorcycles, elephants standing on two legs—are physically uncomfortable and behaviorally unnatural. The whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other tools used during circus acts are indicative that the animals are being forced to perform. These “performances” teach audiences nothing about how animals behave under natural circumstances. The lives of baboons, chimpanzees, and other primates used in circuses differ vastly from those of their wild relatives, who live in large, close-knit communities and travel together for miles each day. Primates are highly social, intelligent, and caring animals who suffer when deprived of companionship. Like all animals used in entertainment, primates do not perform unless they are forced to—often through intimidation, abuse, and solitary confinement. Circus animals sometimes snap under the pressure of constant abuse. Since 1990, PETA has documented 65 human deaths and more than 130 injuries attributable to captive elephant rampages. Many circus elephants are carrying a strain of tuberculosis (TB) contagious to humans. Since 1996, this highly contagious bacterial lung disease has been diagnosed in at least 18 captive elephants and numerous elephant handlers. Because there is no test that can determine if an elephant is harboring TB, the number of infected elephants is unknown. RODEOS Standard rodeo events include calf roping, steer wrestling, bareback horse and bull riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, steer roping, and barrel racing. Most animals used in rodeos are not aggressive by nature, but are physically provoked into displaying “wild” behavior. Electric prods, spurs, and bucking straps are used to irritate and enrage animals used in rodeos. The flank, or “bucking,” strap or rope is tightly cinched around their abdomens, which causes the animals to buck vigorously to try to rid themselves of the torment. The flank strap, when paired with spurring, causes the animals to buck even more violently, often resulting in serious injuries. In addition, the flank strap can cause open wounds and burns when the hair is rubbed off and the skin is chafed raw. Cows and horses are often prodded with an electrical “hotshot” while in the chute to rile them, causing intense pain to the animals. Calves roped while running have their necks snapped back by the lasso, often resulting in neck injuries. Although rodeo cowboys voluntarily risk injury by participating in events, the animals they use have no such choice. Because speed is a factor in many rodeo events, the risk of accidents is high. Many animals discarded from rodeos are sold for slaughter. These animals are often so extensively bruised that the only areas in which their skin is attached to their flesh are the head, neck, legs, and belly. The animals frequently suffer broken ribs, legs, backs, and necks, as well as many other injuries.