JWC & Animal Contractor Citations to Date
To limit their liability and avoid citations in their name, many circuses use third party animal contractors. The contractors traditionally used by the Jordan World Circus have a long record of animal neglect, abuse, and threats to public safety as cited below. We spoke with a USDA specialist, who confirmed there are no inspections on record of circuses traveling with animals in the state of Washington.
Citations include, but not limited to:
handling animals in an abusive manner
improper animal handling
hoofed animals fed in an unsanitary manner
improper food storage
failure to provide animals with adequate nutrition, water, and shade
failure to provide shelter and adequate space to two camels tethered to a truck with a short lead
filthy enclosures
providing dirty drinking water to animals, failing to provide adequate water to animals
failure to provide adequate shelter
failure to provide veterinary care (frequent citation)
poor ventilation in transport trailers
failure to secure animals, (some have escaped and harmed handlers & guests, one handler was killed in 2000)
failure to maintain corrals, inadequate barriers
lack of space and recurring lack of exercise exacerbating animals’ loss of muscular control and difficulty moving
multiple elephants on multiple occasions testing positive for tuberculosis
keeping animals excessively exposed to the sun in temperatures above 100°F
failure to provide adequate space
failure to maintain transport trailers, use of damaged trailers, trailers in ill repair
lack of controlled substance testing for drivers
improper record keeping