Shrine Circus

P2900 Rocky Point Dr.
Tampa, FL 33607
USDA License # (none)

Shrine Circus escapes the scrutiny of governing bodies such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and local animal control agencies by not owning the animals used in its shows or possessing an exhibitor license. The animals are leased from outside companies, including Tarzan Zerbini Circus*, George Carden Circus*, Jordan World Circus*, Hawthorn Corporation*, Royal Hanneford Circus*, Franzen Bros. Circus*, and Circus Hollywood*, so Shrine Circus is not subject to citations under its name. Each Shrine Temple produces its own circus, so animal exhibits will vary from temple to temple and from year to year. Exhibitors of Shrine Circus-leased animals have failed to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition as established in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The USDA has cited Shrine Circus exhibitors for failure to provide veterinary care, adequate shelter from the elements, nutritious food, and clean water, as well as failure to handle animals in a manner that prevents trauma and harm and ensures public safety. Animals used by Shrine Circus have caused deaths and injuries. Contact PETA for documentation.

April 9, 2003: The USDA filed charges against Hawthorn Corporation, a company that supplies elephants and tigers to Shrine Circuses. The complaint alleges 47 violations of the minimum standards of care established in the Animal Welfare Act. Charges include using physical abuse to train, handle, and work an elephant, causing physical harm and discomfort, failing to provide veterinary care to an emaciated elephant, failure to provide veterinary care to an elephant suffering with severe chemical burns and a bacterial infection, failure to provide veterinary care to several elephants with potentially deadly foot problems, and unsafe public contact.

March 24, 2003: The Associated Press reported that a Shetland pony with the Shrine Circus in Lincoln, Neb., was chased by police officers and stopped traffic in the downtown area after bolting from the circus tent.

March 13, 2003: An editorial in the Calgary Sun stated, "Three years ago, I attended the Shrine Circus with my then 2 1/2-year-old twin boys and vowed then that I'd never attend another circus that used wild, exotic animals for entertainment. ... [T]he animals were miserable and terribly treated, and ... the routines ... were, frankly, extremely boring."

March 10, 2003: According to The Edmonton Sun, a local Shriner admitted that statements made by club members may have misled the public into believing that circus profits would help sick kids and fund hospital operations when in fact the circus funds are used for administrative costs.

March 2, 2003: A 9,000-pound African elephant performing with Jordan World Circus at the Shrine Circus in Muskegon, Mich., escaped from a tent shortly before a performance and was recaptured 15 minutes later in a busy downtown area.

October 25, 2002: According to the Associated Press, the former executive director of the Osman Temple Shrine Circus in Minnesota was found guilty of embezzling more than $300,000 from the organization. A jury found Robert L. Janecek guilty on 21 counts of mail fraud, four counts of tax evasion, three counts of failure to file tax returns, and one count of filing a false tax return.

August 2, 2002: According to The Halifax Herald Limited, three elephants performing for Shrine Circuses and giving rides to children were quarantined in Ontario and removed from Canada on July 13 after Canadian authorities were alerted by the USDA that the elephants had been in prolonged contact with a tuberculosis-positive elephant.

June 17, 2002: Two elephants, named Tory and Mary, performing with the Shrine Circus in Menomonie, Wis., bolted out of a circus tent during a show, scattering crowds. Mary hiked 2 miles through town and was recaptured at the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus when trucks blocked her escape. One child was injured, and the elephants damaged a door at the park and caused $600 in damage to a city truck. The Shriners had contracted with George Carden Circus for the event.

May 29, 2002: According to The Detroit News, attendance had declined 10 percent at the 2001 Metro Detroit Shrine Circus.

April 3, 2002: According to the Associated Press, the former executive director of the Mendota Heights-based Osman Temple in Minnesota was indicted for allegedly stealing more than $300,000 from the nonprofit organization and using the Midwest Shrine Circus Committee to launder embezzled funds.

April 13, 2001: A letter to the editor published in the Chicago Sun-Times stated, "I escorted a group of schoolchildren, including my 8-year-old daughter, to this year's Medinah Shrine Circus. ... When the elephants were brought behind the curtain, the trainer began verbally abusing and hitting the elephant. We watched in horror as he swung a stick with all his force and struck the elephant in the back of the leg. This must have hurt because the elephant let out a scream that could be heard throughout the UIC Pavilion. The kids were frightened and asked me why the man was hurting the elephant."

May 29, 2000: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Shriners' membership had dropped to 528,000 by 1999, from a peak of 940,000 in the 1980s.

April 29, 2000: The Tebala Shrine in Rockford, Ill., reneged on assurances that it would not use exotic animals in the circus. Elephants, tigers, and lions were featured.

April 13, 2000: An elephant named Tina used in Shrine Circuses was quarantined after testing positive for a human strain of tuberculosis.

February 11, 2000: The Albuquerque, N.M., shrine reneged on a promise to use an animal-free circus. The shrine featured numerous animal acts, including a killer elephant named Misty.

January 26, 2000: A 4,500-pound female African elephant named Kenya, who had been featured in Shrine Circuses, attacked and killed a circus worker in Florida. The 18-year-old elephant knocked her to the ground and crushed her.

December 2, 1999: According to The Evansville Courier, attendance was dropping at the annual Hadi Shrine Circus; there were an estimated 3,200 fewer audience members present this year than there were the previous year.

October 15, 1999: The San Antonio Express-News reported, "The money coming from this weekend's [Alzafar Shrine] circus proceeds does not go toward the 22 children's hospitals in the United States, Mexico, and Canada."

April 29, 1999: As a result of sustaining multiple injuries from an elephant while performing for the Shrine Circus in Duluth, Minn., an animal handler was hospitalized in serious condition.

March 1999: An evaluation by the Council of Better Business Bureaus determined that the Shriners did not meet its standards, which recommend that at least 50 percent of a charity's income be spent on programs directly related to the organization's stated purpose. According to the evaluation, Shriners had spent only 24 percent on program services.

February 1999: During a risk management presentation to the Shrine Treasurers Association of North America, the Shriners learned that they had been provided by a circus' insurance agent with a fraudulent certificate of insurance on a policy that did not exist after an attendee was injured at a Shrine Circus.

November 26, 1998: In an interview conducted during a performance of the Hadi Shrine Circus and published in The Evansville Courier, Hawthorn tiger trainer Othmar Vohringer recalled a serious attack that had occurred during his career: "A lion took my arm off. It was just hanging there. It had to be reattached."

November 13, 1998: The same tiger used in Shrine Circuses who killed his trainer on October 8, 1998, attacked and killed his owner in Newberry, Fla. The tiger was shot dead.

October 8, 1998: A tiger attacked and killed his trainer in Newberry, Fla. The tiger, who had been featured in numerous Shrine Circuses, grabbed the trainer by the throat.

May 15, 1997: A transient who came to Omaha, Neb., with the Shrine Circus was convicted of second-degree murder. The victim's partially nude, badly decomposed body was found on June 16, 1995. She had been beaten to death with a chunk of concrete.

April 13, 1997: A spooked elephant performing at a Shrine Circus in the city of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, slapped a handler with her trunk and bit him on the head and back, causing injuries serious enough to require hospitalization.

March 18, 1997: A bear with the Shrine Circus in Grand Rapids, Mich., bit off the tip of a 2-year-old child's finger. There were no safety barriers around the bear cages, and 30 other children had been petting the bear.

August 20, 1994: An elephant named Tyke who had rampaged at the Altoona, Pa., Shrine Circus on April 21, 1993, killed her trainer while performing in Honolulu, Hawaii, stomped on a circus groom, and injured a dozen spectators.

April 1994: Three children were injured when an elephant giving rides at a Shrine-sponsored circus in Muskegon, Mich., fell into the passenger loading platform, spilling the riders and bending the platform.

August 8, 1993: A Tucson, Ariz., Shrine Circus clown was arrested on charges of molesting three girls, ages 6, 7, and 10, he met at the circus.

April 21, 1993: An elephant named Tyke charged through an arena entryway during a Shrine Circus performance in Altoona, Pa., ripping away part of the wall and causing $10,000 in damage. More than 3,000 children were in the audience, and one young girl was injured.

October 15, 1992/Bloomington, Minn.: A handler was hospitalized for a leg injury when an elephant grabbed him with her mouth while giving rides to several children at the Shrine Circus. One child suffered a minor leg injury.

July 8, 1990: A 600-pound tiger terrified hundreds of children and their parents when he ran loose for 15 minutes at the Shrine Circus at Mississauga's Square One mall in Ontario, Canada.

March 5, 1988: A Detroit elephant trainer was treated in the intensive care unit of a Montreal hospital after being stomped on by an elephant during a performance at the Shrine Circus. The trainer required emergency surgery for multiple abdominal injuries, including three cracked ribs and a damaged liver.

1978: A Hawthorn Corporation elephant performing in Chicago with the Shrine Circus picked up her trainer with her trunk and threw him into a pillar, killing him.

* Factsheet available.

For more information, contact:

PETA
501 Front St.
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-622-7382

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