PICADILLY CIRCUS

Equestrian Center Cancels Piccadilly Circus After Abuse Rumors

 

from:  malverne-lynbrook.paych.com
by Matthew Hogan (Editor)
May 20, 2013
The family-owned New York Equestrian Center announced earlier this month that it will no longer be renting space to Piccadilly Circus.
The center, which celebrated its grand opening in April, was informed of the ongoing investigations of Piccadilly Circus by Long Island Orchestrating for Nature (LION), an active animal advocacy group on the island.
LION informed the equestrian center that exhibitors of animals at Piccadilly Circus have not only failed to meet minimum federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition as established in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) on numerous occasions, but have even been implicated in equine abuse.
Most recently, on Dec. 5, 2012, the USDA issued an official warning to Piccadilly general manager Zachary Garden for violating federal regulations while traveling with Piccadilly Circus by failing to handle animals properly, resulting in the death of an equine, a zebra.
Currently, the Piccadilly Circus and general manager Zachary Garden are being investigated for the beating of Ziggy the zebra (on April 11, 2013), along with other offenses, just one week before they performed in St. James on Long Island.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed this complaint with the USDA based on the sworn affidavit of a whistleblower.
After LION’s President John Di Leonardo presented New York Equestrian Center owner Alex Jacobsen with facts about the circus, as well as the current investigations of the circus, shows were immediately canceled.
Story written by Julie Cappiello.