CIRCUS, AND PROTESTERS, COME TO TOWN:ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS OBJECT TO TREATMENT, BUT TROUPES SAY THEY'RE CARING, RESPONSIBLE

A traveling circus coming to Sonoma County next week is the subject of

renewed debate about how it treats its performing elephants and other animals.

The 73-year-old Carson & Barnes Circus will be greeted by demonstrators

from a coalition of animal welfare groups when it arrives Monday for two-day

engagements, first at the Wells Fargo Center in Santa Rosa and later in

Petaluma, representatives of the groups said.

The goal is to ensure that circuses stick to human acrobats and clowns in

the future, said Angie Bonnert, public relations director for the Humane

Society and SPCA of Sonoma County.

Deniz Bolbol, a grass-roots organizer for In Defense of Animals, said:

''It's really a joint effort with all the different groups, making sure people

understand that animals in the circus are inherently subjected to cruelty and

inhumane conditions.''

Officials for Carson & Barnes dispute that characterization.

''You don't stay in business 73 years abusing animals,'' said Mal Knopf,

Carson & Barnes marketing and promotion director. ''People don't realize all

the inspections that we go through,'' he said, citing routine and surprise

inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which enforces the Animal

Welfare Act.

Criticism of Carson & Barnes is especially pointed because of an oft-cited

1999 videotaped training session in which one man instructs other personnel to

more aggressively use bullhooks and electric prods to dominate the elephants

and force their compliance.

PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has posted the video

online and made available an affidavit from the videographer outlining alleged

abuse.

Knopf on Thursday said the video was cut-and-paste propaganda with dubbed

dialog and footage that has nothing to do with the Oklahoma-based circus.

''It's not a reflection, believe me, of how we treat animals,'' Knopf said

from Lodi, where the circus landed Thursday in its tour of greater Bay Area

communities.

He also said he and others in the circus world had grown accustomed to

leafletters and demonstrations while on tour, especially in California.

Knopf, like circus owner Barbara Miller Byrd, whose own videotaped tribute

to her family-run circus features footage of attentive care and grooming, said

no one cares more about the animals' welfare than the circus family.

Critics said carting animals from town to town is cruel in itself. Most are

kept in cramped enclosures, or in the case of elephants, chained by the leg.

Elephants, the primary exotic animal used by Carson & Barnes, suffer because

their foot and joint health depends on freedom to move and walk for miles a

day, the groups said.

''I think most people go to the circus because they love animals,'' said

RaeLeann Smith, PETA's circus and government affairs specialist. ''But when

they see what goes on behind the scenes ... they're horrified.''

A review of records from 29 Department of Agriculture inspections around

the country over the past three years, available online, turned up few

compliance problems and no indications of abuse at Carson & Barnes facilities.

Problems included two occasions in which elephants were found to have

inadequate foot and nail care, including one case where an elephant had a 1

1/2 -inch piece of fence wire stuck in its foot; two instances where

tuberculosis test samples were contaminated; one where a gap was noted in an

elephant fence; and one where a dog slipped out of a breach in its enclosure.

In another case, a camel had tipped over its water dish, though it was

eventually replaced.

Bonnert said the fact that even simple foot care gets overlooked should be

a sign of trouble in the organization.

But Knopf said circuses, like restaurants or other businesses under

regulation, have occasional oversights that are quickly corrected.

Sonoma-Marin Fair Chief Executive Officer Patricia Conklin said she

reviewed the records as a matter of routine before booking the circus into the

fairgrounds for shows Wednesday and Thursday.

Though she's had more than a dozen people contact the fair to voice

displeasure about the circus engagement, she's also had many callers seeking

tickets, which are sold only on the day of performance, she said.

Kristi Buffo, public relations manager for the Wells Fargo Center,

similarly reported few protests and lots of interested ticket seekers.

Animal regulation personnel from Sonoma County and the city of Petaluma

will be on hand for the different performances to ensure the safety and

welfare of the animals.

''We will respond to any complaints,'' Petaluma Animal Services Manager

Nancee Tavares said, ''and we'll be looking around, too.''

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or

mary.callahan@pressdemocrat

.com.