ACTIVISTS PROTEST AT CIRCUS.Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer A dozen self-described militant animal rights activists protested at Circus Vargas in Agoura Hills on Tuesday, claiming circus animals are mistreated because they are held in captivity and used for the entertainment of humans. ``We're an animal liberation organization - we feel that animals aren't below us,'' said Nick Hensey, a spokesman for the Animal Defense League. ``They're not ours to exploit or to kill or to wear or manipulate manipulate To cause a security to sell at an artificial price. Although investment bankers are permitted to manipulate temporarily the stock they underwrite, most other forms of manipulation are illegal. as we see fit. An elephant elephant, largest living land mammal, found in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Elephants have massive bodies and heads, thick, pillarlike legs, and broad, short padded feet, with toes bearing heavy, hooflike nails. suffers the same as you and I.'' The protesters carried signs reading ``Circuses hurt elephants'' and ``Boycott boycott, concerted economic or social ostracism of an individual, group, or nation to express disapproval or coerce change. The practice was named (1880) after Capt. the circus'' and passed out brochures in English and Spanish Spanish, river, c.150 mi (240 km) long, issuing from Spanish Lake, S Ont., Canada, NW of Sudbury, and flowing generally S through Biskotasi and Agnew lakes to Lake Huron opposite Manitoulin island. There are several hydroelectric stations on the river. alleging the elephants Elephants Slang for large institutions that make trades in very high volumes. Notes: Examples of elephants are mutual funds, pension plans, banks, and insurance companies. One elephant trade can dramatically move the market price for a security. are abused. The circus, in turn, responded with its own sign: ``Circus animals are loved and well cared for.'' Sheriff's deputies took one of the protesters into custody after animal trainer Chip Arthurs requested a citizen's arrest cit·i·zen's arrest n. An arrest made by a citizen, for whom legal authority arises from the fact of citizenship, rather than by an officer of the law. for trespassing when the protesters were slow to respond to a deputy's request to move farther away from the front entrance to the circus. Hensey and other activists said the elephants in particular are mistreated because they are kept chained, not allowed to run free as they do in the wild, and prodded to make them respond to the trainer's commands. But Arthurs said the animals are treated well at Circus Vargas. He added that the elephants' best chance for survival is in captivity, simply because their native habitat is rapidly disappearing and because they are subject to ivory poachers and other predators. |
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