Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 9/28/2022
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Agawam’s Sheryl Becker is leading a crew of protesters each weekend at the Big E, calling on the fair to cease using animals as “entertainment.”
Becker said she and her fellow animal rights activists do not oppose the agricultural animal exhibitions at the Eastern States Exposition, but object to carnival attractions such as camel rides, pig racing, and an enclosed booth where fairgoers can pay to see the “world’s smallest horse.” Becker’s group picketed the Big E during its first two weekends, and will continue the protest noon to 2 p.m. on Oct. 1 and 2, outside Gate 4 on Memorial Avenue.
According to Becker, the Massachusetts law ensuring these animals are properly cared for is poorly enforced. Additionally, she says that even if the law were followed to the T, the treatment of these animals is still inhumane and should be banned.
“It’s horribly cruel. They’re allowed to do that because they’re [considered] farm animals and the Animal Welfare Act regs are pathetically, pathetically weak,” said Becker.
Becker said two of the Big E’s biggest animal-driven entertainment vendors are among the worst offenders: Camel Kingdom and Commerford Petting Zoo.
A promoter representing Camel Kingdom did not respond to a request for comment. Commerford Petting Zoo could not be reached for comment. Both are traveling exhibitions that participate in many state fairs each year.
Becker said the wild animals in these traveling shows “are deprived of their natural habitats and behaviors and instead are condemned to a life on the road, confined in trailers and train cars without freedom of movement or contact with others of their species.” She added, “Last year, Amherst became the 14th Massachusetts town to enact a ban on the use of wild animals in entertainment.
One hundred fifty-five municipalities across 37 states have also passed such a ban. And New Jersey and Hawaii have enacted some sort of ban on the use of wild animals in entertainment. There is now a worldwide movement to end the use of wild animals in traveling entertainment. Forty-five countries have successfully banned wild animal acts after learning that the animals endure repeated and prolonged suffering.”
In 2019, two of Commerford’s elephants died, one at the Big E.
“One of them, Beulah, died at the Big E after suffering from a uterine infection and collapsing three times,” said Becker. “She was left to die there with no veterinary care. Commerford Petting Zoo knew that that elephant had a serious uterine infection. And that she also, she was in a bad shape. She was in really bad shape, health wise, and they trekked her over [and made her perform] and under the Animal Welfare Act, you cannot have a wild animal on display, or in a show, that is unhealthy.”
Commerford has been cited at least 50 times by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for various violations of animal welfare.
“Beulah’s death proved how poorly the animals are cared for in Commerford Zoo and how the regulations are often not followed,” Becker said. “People throughout the world were appalled, and many locals boycotted the Big E after her death.”
Kerri Nichols, media communications coordinator for the Eastern States Exposition, declined to comment. Since 2019, the Big E has stopped allowing its entertainment vendors to use elephants.
Becker said the exposition hasn’t gone far enough, however. A change.org petition created by Compassion Works International and Western Mass. Animal Rights Advocates asking the Big E to cease its use of wild animals has nearly 152,000 signatures.
“The time when the abuse of other living beings for the purposes of entertainment or ‘education’ is over,” said Becker. “We call on the Big E to end the use of animals for such purposes and to focus on what the Big E should be about, educating and entertaining visitors focused on the wonders of our region. This can be done without causing suffering to animals.”
This article was corrected Sept. 29, 2022, to clarify that the attempt to contact Camel Kingdom was via a promotion agency, and that Camel Kingdom does not offer camel rides.