Cheryl Hines Urges Fairgrounds to Nix Circus's Abusive Elephant Act

Tallahassee-Raised Actor Joins PETA in Calling Out Notorious Exhibitor Traveling With UniverSoul Circus

For Immediate Release:
February 22, 2013

Contact:
Wendy Wegner 202-483-7382

Tallahassee, Fla. -- With the UniverSoul Circus headed to Tallahassee next week, Suburgatory star and Emmy nominee Cheryl Hines is turning her attention from Hollywood to her roots in Tallahassee in order to urge the North Florida Fairgrounds to follow the leads of other venues across the country and ensure that the circus does not force Nosey the elephant—who suffers from a painful skin condition—to perform in its shows. As Hines explains in her letter, Nosey's exhibitor, Hugo Liebel, faces nearly three dozen formal charges for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, mostly for abusing and neglecting Nosey, including by failing to provide her with desperately needed veterinary care and appropriate shelter as well as chaining her so tightly that she could barely move.

"I'm writing today on behalf of my friends at PETA—and as someone who grew up in Tallahassee and has fond memories of the city—to urge you to cancel plans to allow the UniverSoul Circus to exhibit a suffering elephant named Nosey," writes Hines. "Very recent evidence shows that Liebel continues to deny this elephant the care that she so desperately needs. … UniverSoul can put on an excellent circus show without exploiting a suffering, neglected elephant."

Hines joins a long list of celebrities—including Alec Baldwin, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sarah Silverman, Demi Moore, and Wilmer Valderrama—who have teamed up with PETA to combat circuses that use elephants.

Cheryl Hynes' letter to Mark Harvey, manager of the North Florida Fairgrounds, is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.