[UPDATE BELOW] Last night the Ringling Bros. walked their elephants through the Queens Midtown Tunnel and all the way to MSG, where the circus will set up shop through April 4th. According to Washington Square News, hundreds of spectators turned out in the pouring rain, thunder and lightening—but the pachyderms kept their fans waiting. They didn't come stomping out of the tunnel until 12:20 a.m., about 20 minutes late. After that, one onlooker described the scene to WSN, saying: "There were just tons of people running down the street after them in this sort of childish glee."
Allegedly PETA was nowhere in sight (perhaps too busy setting up their Sad Elephant statue in Virginia), but we've contacted the group to confirm. It would seem unlikely for the protesters not to take a stand, after a full page elephant cruelty ad was taken out in the Times earlier this year, and last year the group released undercover footage of elephant abuse at the circus.
If you braved the storm last night and have photos, send them in!
UPDATE: PETA tells us that this year they "did fly-posting around the city to raise awareness of the cruelty that goes on behind the scenes at the circus. We visited two area elementary schools in order to reach out to kids and their parents, and we are hosting an opening-night demonstration in front of Madison Square Garden. We work with local groups to protest and/or film the elephant walks whenever possible, but we put most of our effort into targeting Ringling’s shows because we reach the greatest number of people at the arena."
