PETA Loses a Great Friend; Comedian Richard Pryor Dies
12 December 2005 - In 1999, PETA honored Richard Pryor with its Humanitarian Award, but the kind and compassionate actor was just getting started on more than a decade of work to help get animals out of laboratores, circuses, and slaugterhouses. On Saturday, December 10, we lost a dear friend when Richard Pryor died of a heart attack after suffering for 19 years with multiple sclerosis.
The disease prompted him to speak out for animals in laboratories, such as when, one year, his Christmas cards to friends and family urged people to donate only to charities that don’t test on animals. “May your heart leap with joy this holiday!” Richard wrote inside the card. “And if the season finds you sharing your good fortune with others, please don’t give to charities that fund experiments on animals. A gift of goodwill should help end suffering, not cause it.”
Richard was also involved for several years in helping PETA pressure the fast-food companies. He wrote to Burger King franchise owners and to Safeway and starred in an ad urging KFC to make significant changes for the 850,000 million chickens the corporation raises and kills every year.
But the issue seemingly dearest to his heart was the plight of elephants in circuses. Richard urged UniverSoul Circus to eliminate its animal acts and asked Ringling Bros to retire its elephant performers. He wrote an op-ed comparing the chaining and abuse of elephants in the circus to modern-day slavery, stating, “But for the use of physical punishment by, and fear of, their oppressors, animals would never be a part of a circus.” A Chicago native, the pending Chicago ordinance to ban the bullhook (a hooked tool used to punish and intimidate animals in the circus) caught the comedian’s attention, and he not only spoke in favor of the ordinance but recently wrote a letter to another famous Chicago native, Oprah Winfrey, urging her to support the measure as well, writing the following:
I wanted to let you know about a situation in Chicago that I’ve been tracking closely, with the hope that you might consider getting involved. ... A word from you would make all the difference. As you probably know, there is an elephant-protection ordinance, sponsored by Alderman Mary Ann Smith and about a dozen other aldermen, pending in Chicago that would prevent circuses from using sharp metal bullhooks and electric prods on elephants. It would also ban chaining, which would give the elephants a bit more freedom, and it would require that zoos provide 10 acres of land for each elephant. I’ve been involved in promoting the kind treatment of animals for some time now and have worked with PETA quite a lot in recent years. During this time, I’ve seen some really horrible video footage of circus trainers beating elephants with bullhooks and using electric shock prods. And there’s a growing concern about inadequate space and improper care, which was reiterated last year when three elephants died prematurely within an eight-month period at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Won’t you please help …?
Animals have lost a true hero, and it is our hope that in his memory, the Chicago City Council will pass the elephant ordinance, which will make such a huge difference to the animals who meant so much to this amazing man. Richard Pryor will be missed.
Bron: PETA
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