PETA takes anti-circus effort to kids

UPDATED:

Look both ways before crossing the street, never accept candy from a stranger … and when the circus comes to town, stay home.

As the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus rolls through the area, activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are urging that last message on elementary school-age children in an aggressive advocacy campaign against purported animal cruelty practiced by the circus. But some child-development professionals fear PETA’s message and methods are disturbing to young minds.

In advance of the circus’ scheduled opening Wednesday in Baltimore, a PETA volunteer dressed as “Ellie,” a child-friendly elephant mascot, and handed out “Animals Belong in the Jungle” activity books to children and parents on the sidewalk outside the Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School.

One page in the activity book shows a maze with baby elephants and says: “Find a way for [the elephant] to leave the circus and reunite with her family.” Another page has a “life in the circus” word puzzle with terms like “whip,” “hurt” and “bull hook.”

The school was selected for its proximity to the Mariner Arena, the Baltimore venue for the circus, said Kristie Phelps, an assistant director of PETA.

Edie House-Foster, director of information for Baltimore City Public Schools, downplayed Ellie’s school visit, saying that because the PETA volunteer was on a public sidewalk, permission from the school board was not necessary. “There was no strong impact, because it was during dismissal time, and the children were on their way to the bus,” she said.

Ms. House-Foster said she was not aware of any parents calling the school to complain or express concern about the materials being distributed.

Calls to the school’s parent-teacher association by The Washington Times were not returned.

PETA says it has sent about 10,000 of its activity books, replete with cuddly images of tigers and elephants, to schools and libraries all over the country. It also has launched a special Web site with “graphic” video footage of purported animal abuse at circuses, and a separate site for children called petakids.com, which has “a softer message for children 12 and under.”

“This booklet takes an upbeat approach to telling kids the things they have a right to know about the circus,” said Ms. Phelps. “Kids love animals, and if they knew that elephants and other animals are beaten in order to force them to perform what are for them confusing and physically challenging tricks, they’d have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the circus.”

But Phyllis Ohr, a clinical child psychologist familiar with the PETA campaign, said, “I wonder if PETA is considering the impact of their approach on the mental health of children who are so young and not able to process information and images the same way that adults do.”

Rather than carefully weigh the abstract issue, younger children may personalize the message about animal cruelty in frightening ways, Ms. Ohr said in an e-mail exchange with The Times. “Some young children may believe their own pets are threatened or that they, themselves, are threatened by the cruelty of adults,” she said. “Some children may become fearful of the circus animals rather than feel compassion.

“I believe that showing graphic images without considering the variety of ways a young child might respond is irresponsible. While I don’t disagree with the agenda of PETA, I do believe that the way they have chosen to get their message across to young children is not in the best interest of these young children.”

Ms. Phelps maintained that the PETA materials serve a greater good.

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