Vice President, Cappiello Stands Her Ground
(East Islip, NY)Long Island Orchestrating for Nature (LION) has announced that for the second time in less than a week, demonstrators against Cole Bros. Circus were threatened with arrest for practicing their First Amendment Right. Thankfully, animal advocate Julie Cappiello, 22, raced to the scene to stand her ground.
This past Independence Day, a day to celebrate and remember those who fought for our freedom, several members of 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, were holding a peaceful demonstration against Cole Bros. Circus when Nassau County police officers threatened to arrest the activists and moved them outside of the gates, far outside the reach of circus-goers.
The next day, Vice President Julie Cappiello spoke with a Nassau County Police Officer, who told her “as a veteran,” he would not violate her rights. For the remainder of the Eisenhower demonstrators, the activists were allowed to poster in the park and speak with circus-goers, exposing Cole Bros. horrendous record of abuse. As a result, many potential circus-goers chose to go elsewhere for the night.
As Suffolk County members of LION readied for demonstrations of Cole Bros. at Brookwood Hall Park they thought the worst was behind them, and Monday night this seemed to be the case. Demonstrators passed out “Elephants Belong in the Wild” coloring books for the kids and Cole Bros. Fact Sheets- containing their long record of abuse and neglect- for the adults. Members of the Suffolk County Police and even members of the East Islip Fire Department, which is hosting the circus, took information peacefully; and like Eisenhower, many residents were stunned by what they read and refused to patronize such cruelty.
The very next day, however, it was as if LION was in a time-machine. Again, at the behest of a single member of the East Islip Fire Department, a police officer showed up and threatened to arrest the activists for demonstrating, this time on the side-walk outside the park which is most obviously a public space.
For a time the demonstrations came to a halt with no one knowing what to do, but a quick phone call to Vice President Julie Cappiello brought her swiftly to the scene where she stood her ground, bravely postering and giving out information where the other demonstrators were told they would be arrested, right next to the police officer who threatened all with arrest.
As she was in her right, Cappiello had called their bluff and no further action was taken, with the other demonstrators joining her side shortly thereafter.
According to Cappiello, LION is not backing down anywhere and will follow Cole Bros. Circus throughout their stay on Long Island, with one more night in East Islip, and a month left to go throughout Nassau and Suffolk County.
According to USDA records, Cole Bros. Circus has been cited for multiple violations of the 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. Additionally, they are on USDA probation for violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and their owner, John Pugh, is on criminal probation for the same offense.
“Not only are circuses cruel, but public safety is a major concern,” said LION President John Di Leonardo, 25. “In 2004, a Cole Bros. tiger escaped on the Jackie Robinson Parkway, causing a pile-up and multiple hospitalizations. Earlier, an elephant crushed a man in Fishkill. 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?
Their USDA violations can be viewed here:
http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/
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.
