How Does Garden Bros. Circus Treat Their Animals

When a handful of women want to protest topless, North Carolina regulatory bodies are out in full force. But when the "worst circus in America" comes to town? Crickets.

Garden Bros. Circus has the dubious honor of being the "worst circus," according to PETA and other animal welfare organizations, because of myriad U.S. Department of Agriculture reports of animal mistreatment and neglect.

It has a patchy safety record for humans, too, and has left a breadcrumb trail of unpaid bills across the country for decades, according to media reports.

Garden Bros., elephants and all, performed six times at the WNC Agricultural Center during the weekend of March 9. It has two shows scheduled in Haywood County on March 20.

But with a track record like that, how did local government let the circus in?

Abuse, safety records means not everyone has granted permits

Garden Bros. and its animal contractors have received over a hundred citations from the USDA for mistreatment of the performing animals in their care. (Here's a blow-by-blow of their run-ins with the law since 2006, courtesy of PETA. TheCitizen Times reviewed USDA reports backing this timeline.) In a formal complaint to the USDA in 2017, a former employee described a culture of procedural abuse in which handlers tased the elephants, struck them repeatedly with bullhooks, whipped the camels' feet bloody, and failed to provide veterinary care.

Jim Davis, executive director of Garden Bros. parent company Stellar Entertainment Groups, says the organization switched to a new elephant contractor this year due to concerns for animal welfare. But that new contractor, Carden International, has its own sordid record of elephant neglect and positive tuberculosis tests. (Tuberculosis can be transmitted from elephants to humans, even without direct contact.)

In 2017, inspectors in Canada and Georgia refused to issue permits to Garden Bros. because of recurring issues with collapsing tents, a snapped safety net and a performer who fell into the crowd. Last September, a circus employee shot at a coworker during a show in Texas. Local newspapers across the US have reported outstanding debts when Garden Bros. left town, and several states have sued for "deceptive" business practices.

Davis said the regulatory burden for circuses is already high — and that Garden Bros. goes above and beyond to comply with the law. For each stop on the circus' tour, Davis said, the company reach out to "every (government) department in every county" three times, usually via email, asking what permits are required. Sometimes the government offices reply — and sometimes they don't.

Who issues circus permits? Some of those in charge don't even know.

According to NC General Statute §106-516.1, it's up to the county sheriff to issue a permit to each circus or fair that performs within the jurisdiction. The Department of Environmental Health signs off on food booths, and the Department of Labor approves any rides. But it's the county sheriff who's supposed to have the final say on who can or cannot pitch a circus tent. Except it seems some NC sheriffs didn't know that — or at least may not have been doing their homework.

After dozens of calls to state, county and sheriffs' offices, the Citizen Times identified lax or nonexistent procedures for reviewing and issuing permits for circuses in several counties.

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In Haywood County, neither the sheriff's office nor the county government checks safety records or required permits for circuses and fairs. Upon first contact with the sheriff's office, department employees were unaware that circus permits fell within their purview. Later, staff found a faxed permit request from Garden Bros. that had not been answered.

Lindsay Regner, communications officer at the Haywood County Sheriff's Office, explained the sheriff issues a "verbal permit" when representatives from the Haywood County Fairgrounds inform them a circus has reserved the space.

The sheriff's office reviews no documentation or permits and conducts no independent research before approving a circus, relying solely "on the word" of the Haywood County Fairgrounds board of directors, confirmed both Regner and representatives of the Fairgrounds.

The Fairgrounds relies on the word of the circus.

A circus performer rides an elephant Feb. 8 during the Garden Bros. Circus at the Canton Multipurpose Center. The one-ring circus performed two shows in Canton before moving on to Winona and Tunica later in the week.

Dorothy Morrow, chairman of the Haywood County Fairgrounds board of directors, said she was unaware of Garden Bros.' safety records and history of animal abuse.

"We don't look into people," she said. "We don't have to Google them because they come every year, and they do what they say they're gonna do."

The Fairgrounds asks for an application, renters insurance and a deposit fee, and typically uses contracts written by its renters. Morrow added that the contract provided by Garden Bros. includes a line asserting they have all required permits, but the Fairgrounds has never had a policy of checking permits, as far as she is aware.

"I'd have to go up and crawl around in the attic" to see if they kept any records of prior renters, Morrow said.

How Garden Bros. Circus permit was issued in Buncombe County

The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office forwards circus permit requests to county Animal Control. This year's permit for Garden Bros. was issued when the organization emailed Animal Control a sheet of paper that contained only the time, date and location of the shows — and one line: "This is an indoor event we do not use any Tents."

The sheriff's office had the option to request more information or sign the form, certifying that "nothing is required" for the circus to perform. An Animal Control officer signed off on the event, knowing only that there would not be a tent.

Aaron Sarver, public information officer for the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, said he does not believe any further research was done on the circus's record with animals or safety.

Sarver explained the Sheriff's Office interprets the statute to mean the only grounds for refusal of a permit would be if an agricultural fair were planned within 30 days of the circus.

A contortionist fires a bow and arrow with her feet during The Garden Bros Circus in the Iron Ranger's Arena in Cedar City Tuesday, June 26, 2018.

WNC Agricultural Center, which hosted the Buncombe County performance, had a staff veterinarian from the NC Department of Agriculture review the animals' paperwork, which appeared to be in order. Veterinarian Christina Law said she was unaware of the circus's history with animal abuse and neglect but judged the animals she saw to be in good health.

"(The animals) were all clean, the camels were fluffy," added Matt Buchanan, spokesman for the NCDA, which owns and operates the Ag Center. "They had more-than-current health papers — they have to get (medical reviews) every 30 days. You don't get that for your kids."

Buchanan said that as a policy, facilities don't look into the histories of possible renters. "I've found a lot of crazy stuff on Google," Buchanan said, explaining it's best to stay away from research for that reason.

He said he was unaware that circuses required a permit in Buncombe County and asserted that none was required in Wake County. Though NC General Statute §106-516.1 does require the Wake County Sheriff's Office to issue permits for circuses, Lt. Scott Sefton confirmed that the Wake County sheriff had not issued a permit for Garden Bros.' performance and does not have any prior circus permits on file.

Buchanan said both he and the Department of Agriculture condemn any animal abuse and emphasized that the animals, especially the elephants, are "asked to do very little" as part of the performance.

How USDA circus inspections work

The USDA conducts regular inspections of circus facilities and health checks on the animals. When "noncompliance" is identified — say, the elephants have open wounds or tuberculosis — the USDA issues a warning and sets a timeline for the circus to rectify the issue.

This is true for both structural issues, like broken fencing, and animal abuse, such as the instance when USDA officials watched a handler whip a llama repeatedly on stage at a Garden Bros. show when it was unable to perform a trick.

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If the same issue is not observed during the next inspection, the issue is considered resolved. As long as circuses keep to the timelines set by USDA inspectors, they can continue committing new infractions without losing their license.

Andre Bell, a public affairs representative for the USDA, explained there are a number of measures the USDA can take when they identify "repeat noncompliance."

"Sometimes we'll issue a letter of warning, or we'll distribute monetary penalties. We may go as far as confiscating the animals," he said.

But if a circus uses independent contractors to source their animals — like Garden Bros. — contractors don't need their own license from the USDA. Any infractions observed at Garden Bros.' shows go on the record of the contractor, not Garden Bros., so Garden Bros. isn't in "repeat noncompliance" in the eyes of the USDA.

Who has the final say?

Every county, state and regulatory official interviewed for this story said they were unaware of the record of Garden Bros. Circus — the documented history of animal mistreatment, safety concerns and unpaid debts.

No one in Buncombe and Haywood County or state government "owns" the final say on circuses. There's no official to weigh a circus's past infractions of the law — across regulatory categories — and decide that, on balance, a particular circus shouldn't be welcomed into the community.

Sarver, with Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, didn't mince words about the state of circus oversight in North Carolina.

"Frankly, the ordinance is poorly written and needs to be updated," he said. "Animal welfare conditions during a permitted event is not mentioned in the ordinance, and clearly there needs to be provisions in place with regards to that.

"As we review our policies and procedures at the Sheriff's Office, we will work to develop a permitting process that is more clearly defined."