Big E Protests – Courtesy Post
Sat, September 16, 2017 at 1:00 PM
to Sat, September 30, 2017 at 1:00 PM EDT- Vegan
Event Description
This is a courtesy post for the Western Mass Animal Rights Advocates.
Commerford Petting Zoo (including elephant, camel, & pony rides), Bear Country trailer, Big E Circus will have "animals galore", and the racing pigs will be back again. They will also have a new CAMEL SHOW (http://www.thebige.com/events/2017/camelkingdom)! So your attendance this year is especially important! Please try to attend at least one protest. Scroll down for info. Thank you! *Carpooling can often be arranged. Just post below or let me know if you need a ride. Carpools are a HUGE help, so PLEASE offer to help if you can! And if you'd like to carpool from The Big Y parking lot on Memorial Ave. (free parking), just let me know. * Big E shuttle ($20 cash) is also available from ENFIELD, CT - http://www.kingward.com/big-e-shuttle.html.
WHAT/WHY: The Big E (http://www.thebige.com/) will once again be using many exotic and domesticated animals for entertainment all 17 days, so we will be protesting/leafleting all three weekends, 1-3, at Gate 4. See "Where" for more info.
***PLEASE SHARE!!! * Signs will be provided, but as always, feel free to bring your own. * We'll also be distributing flyers created just for the Big E by the incredible Carrie LeBlanc of Compassion Works International (www.cwint.org) and Circus Protest (http://circusprotest.com/). *** Please sign/share our PETITION - https://www.change.org/p/eugene-cassidy-end-the-use-of-wild-animal-acts-at-the-big-e#!!!
WHAT ARE WE PROTESTING? • Commerford & Sons Petting Zoo (http://commerfordzoo.com/) - elephant, camel, & pony rides, zebra, kangaroo, lemurs, and other exotic animals. Also has animals on display in trailers ("Unicow", “Porky the Giant Pig”, "World's Largest Horse", “World's Smallest Horse”) - Animals are kept in tiny isolated trailers to be gawked at. Extremely cruel and degrading.
◦ Long list of AWA violations & accidents/incidents - http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/pdf/CommerfordPettingZooFactsheet_2010_11_09-pdf.pdf (list hasn't been updated since 2011, so I'm sure there's even more).
• "Bear Country" trailer (http://www.orphanedwildlife.org/) - Bear exhibit with 4 adult bears in one trailer 24/7 with no fresh air or daylight. They finally have a site this year, but it's for "Orphaned Wildlife Center, Inc." not "Bear Country", and it says their goal is to "prepare them to return to a life in the wild" and shows the bears outside. • Big E Circus - Not sure yet what animals they'll have this year, but according to their site there will be "animals galore". It's sponsored by Coca-Cola, so please complain to them if you have a chance.
• "Camel Kingdom" - From Big E site: "This one-of-a-kind entertaining and educational experience features the camels in a desert oasis habitat at the Avenue ShowPlace. Come hangout with the ships of the desert and have your very own camel encounter with a photo after the show." Can't find any other info. on this exhibit online, which raises a red flag. I'll try to find out more about them.
• "Swifty Swine" Racing Pigs (http://swiftyswine.com/home.htm) - This degrading event forces piglets to race 5 times a day for 17 days straight, only to then be shipped from fair to fair in tiny confined cages across the country and forced to do it again. Often they're sold to farmers once they reach their prime to be killed for meat.
WHEN: 9/16-17, 9/23-24, 9/30-10/1, 1:00-3:00, Gate 4
* Protests are rain or shine, except in the case of heavy rain or thunderstorms. Check for a cancellation email, FB post, or call/text the day of protest.
WHERE: Outside Gate 4 (see map at http://www.thebige.com/p/generalinfo/306)
• Directions at http://www.thebige.com/general-info/directions/
• Please prepare for possible heavy traffic and bring a few dollars ($5-$10) for parking (or just put your walking shoes on)!