Frank Hagan, a veteran Ringling employee and lion handler who has signed an affidavit stating that he was present when a 2-year-old lion named Clyde died on the Ringling train, reports that Clyde’s death was a result of negligence. What’s more, he says, the circus apparently tampered with evidence and interfered with the USDA’s investigation.

Hagan alerted PETA that Clyde died on July 13 while the circus was traveling through the Mojave Desert on a day when temperatures soared to 109°F, which was not unusual. Despite the scorching heat and poorly ventilated boxcars, Gene Petis, the circus’s train master, refused repeated requests to stop the train to check on the lions because the circus was behind schedule.

When the train finally stopped mid-afternoon, Clyde “was not moving, barely breathing, and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth. ... Clyde breathed his last breath within moments of our arrival.”

This incident is nearly identical to one in July 2000 in which two of Ringling’s tigers injured themselves in attempting to escape from cages in an overheated boxcar. Then, the USDA cited Ringling for failure to provide adequate care in transit, failure to provide drinking water, and failure to maintain transport enclosures. The tigers were in immediate danger because of an excessive rise in temperature. Despite chronic problems with rail transit, the circus continues to transport animals by train simply because it’s cheaper than using trucks.