Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 15, 1995 TAG: 9502150083
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: C-4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Monday, the circus came to town an hour after sundown. A Ringling Bros. ``Media Alert'' asked news organizations not to publicize the arrival time.
``It's a reflection of the times we're living in,'' said Rodney A. Huey, vice president of public relations for Ringling Bros. ``Things are a lot more regulated. Risk management is much more involved. And with mass advertising, we try to get people interested [in the circus] in other ways than walking through the middle of town.''
Circus officials denied they have made changes in response to animal-rights demonstrators who have begun following the show from city to city. But the news release said, ``The animal walk is not a parade, rather, a logistical necessity to move our animals from the Circus train to the Richmond Coliseum.''
About 100 parents and children tracked the circus down at the Norfolk Southern yard in south Richmond. Another 100 or so shivered in the 30-degree chill as they stood along the two-mile route across the Manchester Bridge and through downtown.
Barbara Botkin, a waitress who waited for an hour with her 5-year-old grandson, Jay, learned of the route by calling police. ``We can't afford the circus. This is it for us,'' she said.
The procession consisted of 22 horses, 18 elephants, five camels, four ponies, four zebras, two llamas and one streetsweeper, which zigged from lane to lane.
Watching in the driveway of Capitol Square were Gov. George Allen, his wife, Susan, and their two children, ages 6 and 3.
Kathy Savory, a spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal-rights group based in Bethesda, Md., called the stealth entrance a victory in the group's fight against what it calls ``circus savagery.''
``It's really a PR decision,'' she said. ``If people get too close to the animals, they may see the scars, may see them limping.''
Huey said no animals suffer. ``They make it like we're hiding something. We display our animals to over 11 million people a year.''
by CNB