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Lions and Tigers and Bare Asses, Oh My!
This pint-sized protester expressed dismay for the circus' arrival in Norfolk, Virginia. (Photo by alaspoorwho via Flickr)
The circus is coming to Orange County soon, but not before a show of a whole other kind hits town, which is due to take place midday tomorrow in the heart of Anaheim. The show is actually a protest organized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) who will express their displeasure about what they believe is the unethical treatment of circus animals by "having one of its members, 32-year-old Melissa Sehgal, pushed through downtown Anaheim in a cage, nearly nude except for tiger-stripe body paint," according to the OC Register.The cage will bear a sign that says "Wild Animals Don’t Belong Behind Bars." Sehgal, an Angeleno making the safari to Anaheim, says of her naked ambitions: "I'll gladly bare my skin if it will help expose Ringling's abusive treatment of animals."
Circuses have incurred the objections of animal activists for some time now, as have other area shows that involve the use of animals, like last year, when Santa Ana's Discovery Science Center's plan to put show elephant Tai inside a giant soap bubble was burst by the onslaught of protest. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey bring their circus to the Honda Center July 15 to 26, which is what prompted PETA to hold their protest in Anaheim tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Center Street Promenade, which is next to Anaheim City Hall. "Circus owner Ken Feld has run full-page newspaper ads saying that PETA’s viewpoints are unfounded and its protests unjust," and area authorities have no objection to tomorrow's planned protest, "as long as [the participants] adhere to laws regarding public decency."
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