PETA takes anti-circus effort to kids

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By Stephanie Green

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."