Henry J. Stern, Commissioner
Department of Parks and Recreation
830 Fifth Avenue
The Arsenal/Central Park
New York, N. Y. 10021

Dear Commissioner Stern:

    This is to respectfully request that the Department of Parks and Recreation stop granting permits to circuses that continue to feature animal acts and that New York City parks feature only contemporary, animal-free circuses.

     As you must know, animals used in circuses lead miserable lives fraught with boredom, punishment and deprivation.  They are subjected to violent training with whips, bull hooks and electrical shock.  Tigers, bears and primates spend much of their time in cramped, often filthy cages.  Elephants are torn from their families in the wild, beaten, and chained, barely able to take more than a step or two in any direction.  Forcing animals to perform unnatural, difficult tricks demeans them and reveals nothing about their true nature.  Using dangerous animals in public performances also poses very real safety risks.

     There are other, more wholesome forms of entertainment and many well-respected circuses that can provide it cruelty-free.  Please make this a consideration when granting permits for this type of entertainment.