Minneapolis Council, Minneapolis may ban RIDING & TOUCHING Elephants!!?Or is that Code? In Moscow on the Mississippi you never know...
Elephants would still perform at Minneapolis circuses, but the kiddies would no longer get to ride or touch them under a proposed ordinance headed for a City Council vote Friday. If that happens, the show may not go on.
"We'll seriously consider leaving the city if we can't do elephant rides," said Tim Davison, the Minneapolis Shriners' assistant circus chairman. Elephant rides are a highlight of and a moneymaker for the fall shows at Target Center, the group's principal fundraiser.
Council Member Paul Ostrow, who wrote the proposed ordinance with colleague Betsy Hodges, called it a "win-win situation for everybody."
'Step in the right direction'
And off the cliff
The Shriners could deal with the increased rules and fees but were taken aback by the Gordon amendments, Davison said. The Shriners have never received any complaints nor have patrons been injured from the rides that cost about $8 last year, he said. "If they were dangerous, then we wouldn't be able to carry insurance," Davison said. "We have people lining up at our shows to take a ride. Why? They're trying to make it difficult for us because we led the charge against a total ban."
Petty Pretty Liberal Loons
| Simpler than that: they're making it difficult because they can. |