Letter to the Editor

Respectfully disagree

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Dear Editor,

In regard to Angie Burns Open Forum Letter of Aug. 31, the McCook Optimist Club would like to respond to some of the information Angie provided in her letter. We appreciate Angie's concern for animals and we thank the Gazette for letting us provide additional information on this subject.

First and foremost, the McCook Optimist Club is chartered to serve the youth of the McCook area and in that capacity we hold several fund raising programs. These programs fund several youth and community beneficial programs in addition to providing substantial scholarship dollars giving local youth the opportunity to further their advanced educational pursuits in these difficult economic times. We do our best to diligently review each of our fund raising programs before proceeding and feel that proper due diligence was performed with the Carson-Barnes Circus which will be coming to town on Labor Day. In this case, this included very positive past experiences with the Circus (this is the fifth or sixth time they have performed in McCook under our sponsorship) and the checking of references that have additional experience with the Carson-Barnes circus.

Here are the facts concerning Carson-Barnes treatment of their animals as we discovered in our due diligence process.

There has never been a documented case of animal abuse against the Carson-Barnes circus.

The Carson-Barnes Circus has never violated the Animal Welfare Act according to USDA official spokesman on circuses, Jim Rogers (jim.d.rogers@aphis.usda.gov).

The Carson-Barnes Circus is a family owned circus and the Miller family has helped fund several non-profit animal welfare organizations and in the case of the Endangered Ark Foundation (an organization devoted to preserving animal species that are in trouble of extinction), has been the establishing entity.

We further believe that Carson-Barnes has a long documented history of upholding high standards of care in reference to their performing animals. They have exhibited this care at the many previous performances held here in McCook.

We have substantial additional information concerning this issue that we would gladly provide Angie or any other interested party. This includes a question and answer sheet from Carson-Barnes regarding their treatment of the animals in their care. Please see an Optimist Club member for additional information or you can view further information on this at http://www.carsonbarnescircus.com/animals/animal.html.

In closing we would like to add that over the years of our association with the Carson-Barnes Circus we have received numerous positive and appreciative comments. These have ranged from the youngest of circus goers that have had the opportunity to view these magnificent animals, and the skills that these creatures can perform in partnership with their trainers, to the oldest in our community that have had the pleasure of reliving the days of the traveling circus and all that this exciting event brought to a community.

We hope that this information provides assurance that the Optimist Club of McCook has performed a high level of due diligence in bringing Carson-Barnes to McCook and that as a group we maintain the same measure of concern for these wonderful animals as others. We also hope that the community will again be able to enjoy an event that not only helps fund beneficial community projects and programs, but brings the wonderful sights and sounds of a first class circus to both young and old alike in our area.