A LEGENDARY circus boss has accused PETA of making up stories to get publicity.
John Ringling North II said the rights group fabricated stories to blacken circuses around the world.
He said: “They tell lies about us.”
Ringling North, 77, who is one of the famous Ringling Brothers, spoke following a claim by PETA that the Kelly Miller Circus in America has used a cattle prod on its animals.
He was referring to a 2015 post on PETA’s website which listed Kelly Miller as one of the “Eight Worst Circuses in the U.S.”.
The post claimed the circus had a history of violations and said a Department of Agriculture inspector had spotted a cattle prod allegedly used on camels and zebras in the show.
But North strongly denied the allegations and said that cattle prods were not used.
He said: “Circus animals are probably as well cared for as any animals on the planet — they have to be.
None of the animals in Kelly Miller Circus are beaten or chained.”
This year’s Kelly Miller Circus show included an elephant, two camels, a donkey and a trained zebra.
The show was founded in 1938 as the Al G. Kelly Miller Brothers Circus and would celebrate its 80th anniversary next year.
