[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 61 (Monday, April 3, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5066-S5070]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION

  Mr. BREAUX. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Rules 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of House Concurrent 
Resolution 34 relative to the Ringling Bros. Circus and the Senate 
proceed to its immediate consideration under the following time 
agreement: 1 hour under the control of Senator Smith to offer an 
amendment regarding elephants. I further ask that following the 
conclusion or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to a vote on 
the Smith amendment, to be followed immediately by a vote on adoption 
of House Concurrent Resolution 34.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 34) authorizing the 
     use of the Capitol grounds for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum 
     & Bailey Circus Anniversary Commemoration.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the concurrent resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, first of all, let me say that the 
resolution that we have before us is a resolution to allow the Ringling 
Bros. Circus to come on the Capitol Grounds at some point this next 
week. I believe it is Wednesday. I could be wrong on the date.
  As a youngster, I enjoyed the circus many times, as most of us have. 
I have no objection to many of the acts that you see in the circus. My 
objection here to this resolution is the issue of using elephants in a 
way that they are used in the circuses throughout the United States, in 
this case Ringling Bros., because they are planning to bring, I cannot 
get the exact number, a certain number of adult elephants onto the 
Capitol Grounds.


                           Amendment No. 449

  (Purpose: To prevent the use of elephants in the Ringling Bros. and 
                  Barnum & Bailey Circus celebration)

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I am going to offer an amendment, and that 
amendment should be at the desk. I will offer that amendment at this 
time, an amendment to the underlying resolution. It is a very simple 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. Smith] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 449.

  The amendment is as follows:

       On page 2, strike lines 9 through 13, and insert the 
     following: ``performers, on the Capitol Grounds, on April 3, 
     1995, or on such other date as the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives and President pro tempore of the Senate may 
     jointly designate.
     [[Page S5067]] SEC. 2. CONDITIONS.

       No elephants shall be allowed on the Capitol Grounds for 
     the purpose of this event.''.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, the amendment is a very simple amendment. 
It simply says the circus can proceed on the Capitol Grounds without 
the use of elephants.
  Now, this is the type of amendment that tends to bring some ridicule 
of me by others who have in some way expressed their concern about 
this. I am going to go through this because I think it needs to be 
said. I am going to be very methodical about it.
  It concerns two areas. One area is how the elephant in a circus is 
treated; not how you see the elephant out there doing its performance, 
but how it is treated in order to do that performance, and how it is 
kept, how it is transported. And, second, I am going to outline a 
number of incidents that have taken place in the past few years 
involving these huge, several-thousand-pound animals that are used in 
the circus.
  I am not going to in any way try to misrepresent facts. I realize--
and I want to say it up front--that in some areas the Ringling Bros. 
people do some very fine things with animals. I know for a fact that 
one of the trainers at Ringling Bros. who trains dogs saves some of 
those dogs from death at the pound and trains those animals to be used 
in the act. I do not object to any of that.
  This involves elephants.
  I hope that the cameras can pick this up, but this, in only a very 
small way, conveys the horror of what I am talking about, because I 
cannot explain it or show it with pictures. I have films. I have tried 
for about 2 weeks now to interest any of my colleagues, any one of my 
colleagues--any one--in this issue, to no avail.
  So that all my colleagues will know, lest they be worried about it, I 
have decided not to call for a rollcall vote on this issue, because I 
know what the vote will be. It will be a voice vote.
  But I want my colleagues to know that what they are doing by allowing 
these animals on the Capitol Grounds is a grave risk, a grave risk not 
only to the animals but also to the children who have been invited to 
be here.
  This elephant in this picture here was shot over 100 times when it 
went berserk in Honolulu. It killed a trainer and injured some people.
  These animals--you might say, what is it about them that would cause 
them to do this? Well, for those who care, I would think that they must 
not have reacted too well to some of the training and some of the 
things that they are required to do in these acts.
  Now, does this mean that deliberately people try to inflict harm upon 
these animals? In some cases, that may be true. Are they fed well? Of 
course, they are fed well. But that is not the issue here. The issue 
is, should an animal this big go through the procedures that we put 
them through, and is it safe to have them around little children on the 
Capitol Grounds?
  Now, I want to again repeat, I do not object to Ringling Bros. being 
here. I know they do a lot of things in the breeding of elephants and 
help to somehow enhance some species that may even be on the endangered 
species list.
  That is not what I object to. I object to them being transported and 
used in the way they are used.
  I have a film of this animal from beginning to end. I have asked some 
of my colleagues to look at it. Nobody has taken me up on it. Maybe if 
they took me up on it, somebody might come down on the floor and ask 
for a recorded vote. It would be nice to have a little company.
  But let me start by relaying some incidents. Because, bear in mind, 
now, sometime this week, or whenever we do it--I would like to be wrong 
on the number and I stand corrected if I am--but somewhere around 15 
elephants are going to be brought onto the Capitol Grounds. Maybe it is 
less. I do not know how many it will be. I have not been told. I cannot 
find out. So many elephants are going to be brought on the Capitol 
Grounds here.
  How do you restrain an elephant?
  So they are going to be brought on to the Capitol Grounds. As we hear 
about these elephants being brought on the Capitol Grounds here, 
remember this is my objection.
  Let us talk about some of the things that happened to elephants in 
circuses in the last few years. Let us just take a few minutes and go 
through them.
  I have talked to Mr. Ireland, who is a representative of the Ringling 
Bros. Circus. We had a very nice conversation. He is a good friend of 
mine; a former Congressman. He represents Ringling Bros. He came in and 
spoke to me. He made a very strong case, a good appeal to me.
  I ask him if he would simply remove the elephants from the act on the 
Capitol Grounds. This circus is going to be performing downtown in the 
armory for 20 days. All I ask is that the elephants be removed from the 
acts on the Capitol Grounds, because I thought first, it was a danger; 
and second, I objected to some of the ways and methods that were used 
to train these animals, to no avail. There was no agreement. They would 
not agree to do that.
  I cannot understand why it is so important to have these huge animals 
roaming around the Capitol Grounds. If people want to see them, they 
can go down the street at the armory, go to the circus and see them 
there. But they said that was out of the question. They would not 
agree. So here I am.
  It is an issue of public safety, Mr. President. It really is an issue 
of public safety.
  Now, it would be very easy for the skeptics, because, after it is all 
over, if nothing happened--and I pray to God nothing does; but if it 
does, then do not say I did not tell you so-- and if it does not--and I 
hope it does not--they will all say, ``Well, there was Smith out there 
wailing away on nothing. It is irrelevant. He took the Senate's time. 
Nobody cares about this.''
  Well, at least 15 people have been killed by animals in the last 5 
years in circuses--15 people. And I am going to go through these right 
now.
  This one here, 2 weeks ago, a circus elephant trampled two men to 
death in Bangkok. OK, that was not in America. OK; fine. I am preparing 
myself for the comments that will be coming. So let us move on.
  Ringling Bros.--that is who we are talking about here; that is who is 
coming to town, Ringling Bros.--Ringling Bros. Circus' most experienced 
trainer, Alex Gautier, was trampled to death in 1993.
  Lest somebody would doubt me, I have the obituary on that somewhere. 
Let me see if I can find it. I have it right here.
  This is an obituary from the New York Times. He was Ringling Bros.' 
elephant trainer. He was trampled to death 2 years ago by an elephant. 
He had been with Ringling for 35 years. So it was not exactly some 
inexperienced kid that came out and said, ``I'm going to train an 
elephant.'' He represents 35 years of training.
  Even if Ringling's most experienced trainers are at risk, how about 
the kids on the Capitol Grounds? Does anybody care about them? Hundreds 
of schoolchildren are going to be here.
  I heard Speaker Gingrich say how wonderful it was going to be; we are 
going to have animals on the grounds; it was going to be a wonderful 
thing for the children.
  A 51-year-old elephant trainer, leading trainer of elephants, 
performer all these years, died 2 years ago at a hospital at the 
University of Florida, Gainesville. One of the elephants he was working 
with at the Ringling Bros. elephant farm in Williston, FL, knocked him 
down and stepped on him. He was taken by helicopter to the hospital. He 
was a feature performer at one of the show's traveling circuses where 
he had been appearing in Asheville, NC. He was making a brief visit to 
the farm to check on the conservation and breeding program in the herd 
of 20 elephants.
  So that is the first instance.
  In 1994, Alan Campbell was crushed to death and a dozen spectators--a 
dozen spectators--were injured when an elephant with Circus 
International went on a rampage through downtown Honolulu. This is that 
picture. That elephant killed the trainer, came out of the little 
circle, the arena, came out of the tent, through a fence, out into the 
road. There was absolutely no protection for the people against this 
huge animal.
  They had to shoot this animal with anything they could find--
revolvers, whatever they could gear up; there was absolutely no 
protection--100 times before the animal fell down against a car, and 
even then they could not kill it 
[[Page S5068]] with a gun. Somebody got there with some type of drug 
and was able to immobilize the elephant for when they finally killed 
it. So 100 times. It was the second incident at the circus in 1 week.
  Was that Ringling? No. I am not maintaining that it is. It was a 
circus and that happened. Elephants are elephants. I do not think 
elephants know the difference between a Ringling Bros. Circus and any 
other circus. If they are asked to stand up on one leg on a barrel, I 
do not think they understand if it is Ringling asking them to do it or 
anybody else.
  If anybody can tell me how they know that, I would be happy to hear 
it.
  Backstage at ``Live with Regis and Kathie Lee,'' Yelena Aleynikova 
had her skull fractured, ribs broken and a lung punctured by a Moscow 
Circus elephant in 1994. She is suing the circus, the show, and ABC as 
a result of that incident.
  I hope our insurance is paid up on the Capitol Grounds, by the way.
  Schoolchildren looked on as an elephant crushed a man to death at the 
San Salvador National Zoo in 1993. He was the second person that this 
very elephant had killed.
  Char-Lee Torre was kicked to death by an elephant at the Lowry Park 
Zoo in Florida in 1993.
  Christopher Ponte was crushed to death in 1993 by an elephant at the 
Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus in New York.
  And in 1992, Jubal Cox was grabbed and slammed to death by an 
elephant in Texas while visiting the San Antonio Zoo.
  There is more.
  Eight children and their parents were pinned under a fence by an 
elephant at the Circus International in 1994--children.
  Twelve spectators were injured and a police officer was thrown to the 
ground when an elephant went on a rampage in Florida at the Great 
American Circus in 1992. The elephant was shot and killed by police.
  Again, members of the audience were trampled after an elephant at 
Circus Benneweis attacked her trainer and went running through the 
town's busy harbor area in 1994. The elephant later returned and was 
killed.
  In 1994 in Utah, Jordan Circus animal trainer Rex Williams suffered 
broken ribs, a broken arm and organ damage after being thrown and 
trampled by an elephant on whom children--children--were riding.
  Here is a Ringling animal trainer, George Lewis:

       An elephant, when brought into captivity, must make a 
     tremendous adjustment to live with man . . . They come to 
     hate their human masters, who are responsible for keeping 
     them confined . . .

  That is a Ringling trainer.
  I do not have them all up here on the chart, but let me give you a 
couple more.
  On August 15, 1994, 10 people were injured when an elephant pinned 
them under a fence separating the ring from the audience in Honolulu, 
HI.
  Lion Country Safari: On February 1, 1992, 12 people were injured, 
including one police officer, when an Indian elephant broke loose 
during a performance at Brevard Community College in Palm Bay, FL.
  On June 8, 1990, a man was injured when an elephant attacked her 
trainer and ran into a crowd in Reading, PA. The trainer had repeatedly 
stuck the elephant in the mouth with a hook to gain her attention just 
prior to the attack. The trainer got her attention, I might add.
  In July 1987, two children were injured in Milwaukee, WI, by an 
elephant when she escaped from trainers with children on her back. The 
circus recovered the animal and she resumed giving children rides 2 
days later. I wonder if the parents of the children who were brought to 
ride the elephant after the incident were told the animal had done that 
days before.
  Hanneford Family Circus: On June 21, 1990, David Dickerson, an 
elephant trainer, was killed when the elephant he was training crushed 
him after being startled by a passing car in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
  Commeford & Sons: On August 31, 1991, Brian Corring was severely 
injured by an elephant carrying children on her back during the 
Champlain Valley Fair in Essex Junction, VT. While the children on the 
elephant were unharmed, the parents felt the officials ignored the 
severity of the situation. This was the second time that the elephant 
had injured someone.
  Just a couple more.
  The Gatini Circus: Elephant trainer Eloise Berchtold was killed by an 
elephant during a performance at Rock Forest, Quebec. The elephant 
stepped on Berchtold and would not let anyone near her to provide 
medical assistance.
  Tarzan Zerbini International Circus: July 15, 1992, nine people were 
injured when elephants toppled a barricade during a performance at a 
shopping center in Lafayette, IN.
  I have been trying for the past several days to get somebody around 
this place to care about this, and I cannot do it. I cannot find 
anybody that cares. There is not exactly a crowd on the Senate floor 
right now.
  I asked the Sergeant at Arms how much does it cost for the extra 
security, extra police--just the extra police, not what it costs us 
every day. The extra police, just for a couple of hours while the 
circus is here for overtime--overtime for officers--$52,000.
  I then said to the Sergeant at Arms, ``I want to know what protection 
do we have for the children and the spectators on the Capitol Grounds 
if this elephant, or any elephant of the elephants you have on the 
grounds, goes berserk, what do we do?''
  He said to my staff person, ``I will not tell you that. I will not 
tell you what the protection is.'' The implication is that it would be 
a security matter, and I respect that. But I am a U.S. Senator. The 
last time I looked, the Sergeant at Arms worked for us. Maybe somebody 
else has a different perspective on that. I thought the Sergeant at 
Arms worked for the Senate.
  I am a Senator, and I asked him, ``What do we have available to us if 
an elephant goes berserk on the Capitol Grounds?'' He refused to tell 
me. He refused to tell me. He did not say, ``I'll put it off,'' ``I'll 
tell you tomorrow,'' ``I'll look it up,'' or ``It is the following.'' 
He said, ``I won't tell you,'' period. ``I don't have to tell you, and 
I won't.'' And he did not, and I do not know why. I assume 99 of my 
other colleagues do not care. They are just going to have the elephants 
here.
  I was told by the office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms that the 
security requirements for this circus for 2 hours would be the 
equivalent of the State of the Union Address. So, apparently, they must 
think it is pretty serious.
  We were also told that the cost was mainly associated with the 
expected demonstrations against the involvement of the elephants in the 
circus. Of course, the elephants themselves pose a serious security 
threat and, thus, an enormous cost to the taxpayers in excess security 
personnel, but I cannot find out what the security is.
  It is my understanding that all shifts of the Capitol Police--all--
will be on duty during this event when they bring the circus to town. 
The Senate Sergeant at Arms told me it would require paying overtime 
for a number of officers--again, $52,000.
  Let us go into it a little bit more because sometimes when you talk 
about money around here, it is the only time you get anybody's 
attention.
  If a person does not care about the elephants, and they do not care 
about the kids out there, maybe we can get your attention with money. 
Of course, that is not including the regular Capitol Police officers 
who will be on hand, that is $200,000, in addition to the $52,000. If 
there are any arrests, any at all, anybody gets arrested out there--
protesting, demonstrating, making love, whatever they are doing out 
there on the grounds--each arrest will cost additional overtime hours 
on top of the $52,000. This does not include the additional security 
costs for the Washington, DC Police Department. It also does not 
include the setup costs of the circus. The Architect of the Capitol 
estimates that could be about $7,000. Remember now, the circus is right 
downtown for 20 days.
  Mr. President, for the past several days we have been debating 
decisions of previously appropriated funds. It is not an easy task, 
because many of the projects are worthy. These programs will be paid 
for. These programs we have been debating on the floor of the Senate 
will be paid for by our children and their children.
  Ringling Bros. said the elephants must be in the circus, cannot have 
a circus without elephants. I asked if 
[[Page S5069]] they would bring the circus here so I could come and 
enjoy it as well, without the elephants. Clowns, acrobats, dancing 
dogs. No, no, no, they want to see that, but the kids want to see the 
elephants.
  Well, I hope the kids enjoy it because they are paying for it. Right 
now the national debt says each child in America today is $18,500 in 
debt, so we will add to your debt. So I hope you enjoy the elephants. 
We will pay for it years from now. They will pay when they join the 
work force. By then, the national debt will be--I do not know what it 
will be by that time. It will be $6 trillion by the next 3 or 4 years.
  So, I suppose I could say if I was cynical, if we want to cut the 
cost of Government, we could vote for this amendment. If we pass the 
amendment, there will be no protesters, there will be no threat of 
elephants running amok on the Capitol Grounds. And we can pass it by 
unanimous consent. We save the taxpayers $52,000.
  There are all sorts of events on the Mall here in Washington. Cirque 
du Soleil has done performances on the Mall. No elephants, no protests, 
no threat to security, no cost to taxpayers. The kids loved it. They do 
not need elephants to have a good time. Neither does Ringling.
  Ringling Bros. circus is performing at the armory. If the kids really 
want elephants, they can go and see them at the armory or they can see 
them at the National Zoo. They can see them for free at the National 
Zoo. There are several there, as a matter of fact, for the benefit of 
anybody who might be listening who cares, including a baby elephant.
  They are not asked to stand on their heads or climb up on a barrel 
about the size of 1 foot, parade around with a hook in their mouths. 
They are just there, well-taken care of at the zoo.
  So, let me again comment on the Sergeant at Arms, because this is 
very critical. I think there is an arrogance here, No. 1. We have a 
right to know. A U.S. Senator asked the Sergeant of Arms about 
information about an event here on the Capitol Grounds. We have a right 
to know what it is. I will find out. With or without a vote on this 
amendment, I will find out what they are going to do and what the plan 
is.
  I asked, and the only reason I have not found out, I was not here, 
and I had to have a staff person do it on my behalf. I will find out or 
there will be hell to pay as to why I do not find out.
  Given all the instances I have mentioned that is not an unreasonable 
concern. What do they have on the grounds. How do we stop an elephant, 
Mr. President, if it goes berserk? What do we do? Do you use an AK-47? 
An M-16? An AR-15? They are illegal in Washington. A person cannot even 
carry them. All illegal. All banned. This is gun control in the city of 
Washington. Highest crime rate in the world, we have gun control. All 
illegal.
  Frankly, would that stop an elephant? I doubt it. I really doubt it. 
Do they have a bazooka? What is their plan of action? What is the plan 
if something happens? It took 100 rounds in this poor animal here that 
went wild in Honolulu and that still didn't kill it. It needed to be 
killed by lethal injection.
  People ought to see the film. My colleagues ought to look at the film 
of that. That is really something to watch. Look at the policemen, and 
then see if you can vote against this. I do not know where we will get 
100 rounds. Last year's crime bill banned the manufacture, sale, or 
possession of all clips over 10 rounds, so I assume we will have 100 
officers standing out there with pistols, with 10 rounds in a clip. I 
do not know. I cannot find out.
  Now, do we want to be firing AK-47 rounds around little children if 
something happens? I do not know. These are the issues that ought to be 
of concern.
  Overreacting, they will say. Yes, always overreacting until something 
happens. Is that not the way it is?
  Even those who do not have strong feelings about the treatment of 
animals ought to be concerned about the issue of public safety, as well 
as the cost.
  I want to stress a few points in closing here. Ringling Bros. 
maintains their training practices are not cruel and they are not 
abusive. I think they mean that. They may think that.
  But let me say when the elephants go berserk the first person they go 
after is the trainer. That ought to say something. When I met with Mr. 
Ireland he said that while Ringling Bros. does, in fact, use whips, 
whips are used because of the cracking sound, which is an audible cue 
to the elephants.
  I am not an elephant trainer. I do not know what the function of a 
whip is or how it works. I suppose if someone was whipping a cracking 
whip behind me I would probably do whatever they said, too.
  I have concerns about a number of other practices that are regularly 
employed in the training of elephants. I am not going to get into 
whether Ringling employs these are not. I do not know. We may never 
know, because no outside organizations are allowed to monitor or film 
their trainers.
  I was offered the opportunity to go down to a Ringling training area 
where they train elephants by Ringling. They said, ``You can come in 
and watch us train.'' I found that somewhat humorous. If they had any 
methods I would object to, I do not think they would use them while I 
was there. Maybe they would, but I doubt it.
  So, let me mention a few articles that I have here.
  Before I do, let me call my colleagues' attention to a section of the 
National Geographic. This piece from the National Geographic shows the 
methods that are used. Obviously, I cannot show it here. We do not have 
the facilities to do that. Might be a good thing to do some time.
  These tapes, I have them. I will be more than happy to provide them 
for my colleagues to look at, anytime they want to look at them. The 
hooks that are used, the methods of training the animals down, the 
cramped quarters to house the animals, and the methods used in breaking 
wild elephants.
  Let me just say for the record on wild elephants, Ringling has 
assured me they do not use wild elephants, that they breed their own 
and take young elephants, and I have no reason to deny that.
  In the past, and, in fact, in some other circuses, baby elephants are 
captured in the wild, taken from their mother, and beaten for days at a 
time while they are screaming. It is on the tape. Members ought to 
watch it. Beaten, for days and days, in shifts, by these people in the 
jungles of Thailand and Laos. Wherever the elephants are captured, 
beaten consistently until their spirit is broken, and until they have 
nothing left to offer resistance to. Screaming and crying. Ought to 
watch the tape.
  Does Ringling do that? No, I want to make it clear. But young 
elephants are captured and are used in circuses in that way.
  Now, the issue, we could go on and on and on. Elephant incident after 
incident after incident, where elephants have been on the rampage and 
done some of these things.
  The issue, really, is this. Should an animal this big, this wild, be 
used for entertainment? I do not think so. I do not see the need for 
it. There is no need for it. We do not see what happens when the circus 
is not around. When we are not watching the circus.
  We are seeing the animal out there with his trunk around another 
elephant's tail and gets up and does a trick. That looks cute and I 
have seen it.
  Frankly, before I knew more about this I thought it was great. How do 
they transport an elephant from Florida to California? You cannot put 
them on an airplane, so they put them in some kind of a truck. Ever 
look at the width of a highway? There is only so much size of a truck 
that can be used.
  So they are in cramped quarters. Now, when you have them on location 
for a circus--let us say down here at the Armory--how do you restrain 
these animals? How do you restrain an animal that weighs several tons? 
Let me tell you how you restrain them. You chain them. You chain them 
up.
  You can say we feed them hay, we feed them grain, we take good care 
of them--these are wild animals. So that is why things like this 
happen. That is why elephants go berserk, because they are not meant to 
do these kinds of things and it is cruel. It is cruel.
  We have an opportunity here today in the Senate to make a very small 
statement. We are not going to stop this by doing this. We are not 
going to 
[[Page S5070]] stop it. But we could say, as U.S. Senators and U.S. 
Congressmen, that we do not want to risk having an incident like this 
happen on the Capitol Grounds, No. 1; and, No. 2, we think that, even 
though it is not intended to be cruel, the result is that it is cruel 
in the way that we treat these animals. They ought to be left alone in 
zoos, in parks, wherever we can; and not use--or abuse--them in the 
ways that is being done in these circuses.
  The little kids ought to be able to go down and see these elephants 
chained and restricted, or watch the training, which we are not allowed 
to watch.
  I think it is sad because all we have to do is just make a statement: 
No, we are not going to let the elephants come here on the Capitol 
Grounds because we do not think it is right. The elephants are still 
going to be performing down at the Armory. We are not going to be able 
to stop that. But we make a statement and maybe, by making that 
statement, we show the world and show the country that we care a little 
bit.
  I know the types of criticism and the ridicule that I get. People say 
you are an animal rights nut. I am not. I am not. But they do not have 
anybody. There is nobody who can come out here on the floor. An 
elephant cannot come out here on the floor. No animal can come out 
here. It does not have any Congressmen or Senators to represent it. So 
if somebody does not speak up, who do they have?
  So it is a very small thing to do, really. It is not a big deal. We 
just say Ringling, come on up; bring the clowns, bring the dog acts, 
bring the rings, bring the trapeze artists, and entertain the kids. But 
leave the elephants in the zoos and in the parks. Leave them alone.
  Circuses started back in the days when we did not understand this, or 
when we did not care. Those days are past. Let us move on. Let us get 
into the 21st century here.
  Elephants are a vanishing species, anyway. I doubt very much 100 
years from now, when somebody stands here at Daniel Webster's desk 
where I stand now, I seriously doubt that person is going to know what 
a live elephant looks like. Unfortunately, I have to say that.
  In some cases, some of these groups like Ringling do a good deed by 
breeding these animals. But you do not have to use them in circus acts, 
which are unnatural for these animals. That is why these incidents 
happen.
  We have another quote here:

       Physical abuse and dominance control remain a major method 
     of training elephants.

  That is by John Lehnhardt, the assistant curator at the National Zoo 
right here in Washington. These guys know what they are talking about. 
Do not take my word for it. These are people who work with these 
animals every day. They know what they are talking about. It is 
unnatural to make huge beasts the size of an elephant do the things we 
ask them to do. They are telling us that. They are warning us.
  Henry Ringling North, the Ringling Circus founder, said:

       When it came to teaching [the animals] the more involved 
     tricks, [Ringling animal trainer Alfred Court] had to use a 
     whip. If an animal got out of line, he flicked that animal in 
     the most sensitive place you could hit either a male or a 
     female. He hit, but only because the animal had made a 
     mistake.

  Really? That is what the kids are going to patronize when they come 
on the Capitol Grounds.
  Let me just repeat, Mr. President, when I started this process I said 
if I get some support, if I get some people who will come forth and 
participate in this debate with me and share my concern, I would 
probably call for a rollcall vote. But it did not come. I know where 
the votes are and are not. There is no point in taking the Senate's 
time anymore on this. I will not call for a rollcall vote.
  I will call for a vote, however, at whatever time the Senate wishes 
to have it, either now or tomorrow. Unless someone else asks for a 
recorded vote, I will call for a voice vote on this matter and, if the 
wishes of the Senate are that it be now, in just a moment, I will do 
that by yielding the floor.
  Let me remind my colleagues, before I yield back the remainder of my 
time, of all the materials that back this up. This is not the only 
incident. There are many incidents like this. I will say again, in 
summary, I hope nothing happens. But I also say we are not prepared for 
it if it does. We are not prepared to handle a rampaging elephant with 
a bunch of little schoolchildren out on the Capitol Grounds. If we are 
prepared for it--and the Sergeant at Arms refuses to tell me whether we 
are or not--if we are, it would have to be with some humongous weapon, 
which would have to impose a danger on the children who would be here, 
because we do not know what direction this elephant would run, or any 
elephant would run, or elephants, if they were to do that, if they 
would be so inclined to do it.
  I have made my case. I think I have told the world, the Senate, and 
hopefully many families and children out there who may want to be 
coming to the circus--I hope, frankly, you do not. I hope you send a 
statement that this is wrong and we ought not to do it and we ought to 
be somewhat considerate, in a very small way, by saying this is wrong.
  Mr. President, at this time, regretfully, I yield the floor without 
requesting a recorded vote. At this time, I yield the remainder of--I 
yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Frist). The Senator from Louisiana.
  Mr. BREAUX. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the amendment 
offered by the Senator from New Hampshire. I do not doubt in any way 
the sincerity of the Senator from New Hampshire in his beliefs and 
strong feelings on this subject. I will only make two very brief 
points.
  First, we already have on the books rules and regulations that govern 
the handling of wild animals and, indeed, all animals that appear in 
circuses: How they are treated, how they are transported, how they are 
fed, how they are cared for, how they are treated when they are sick. 
Those rules and regulations are already on the books. If indeed those 
rules are deficient, the appropriate committees in the Congress of the 
United States should review those rules and then make recommendations 
to the full body. None of that has been done in this case.
  Second, I trust the Sergeant at Arms, whom I know the Senator from 
New Hampshire knows very well. I am certain he has reviewed the risks 
and lack of risks associated with the appearance of a portion of 
Ringling Bros. Circus on the Capitol Grounds. He, indeed, has the 
responsibility of determining whether events can take place on the 
Capitol Grounds that do not impair the safety of the Members of this 
body, as well as the employees who work here, as well as, in fact, the 
physical grounds that constitute the Capitol of the United States. I 
trust, I am certain he has made a decision that these events can take 
place without putting any person at risk, any Members at risk or, 
indeed, any of the physical structures of the Capitol at risk.
  Therefore, Mr. President and colleagues, I think the amendment 
offered by the Senator from New Hampshire, in good faith and with all 
sincerity--I admire the work he has put into this--I suggest is 
inappropriate at this time and ask for its defeat.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If all time is yielded, the question is on 
agreeing to the amendment of the Senator from New Hampshire.
  The amendment (No. 449) was rejected.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the adoption of the House 
Concurrent Resolution 34.
  The resolution (H. Con. Res. 34) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  Mr. THURMOND addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as if 
in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  

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