Ringling Bros. circus hired private eye to infiltrate PETA, jury told

The Washington Post via Seattle Times ^ | February 28, 2006 | Tom Jackman

[presidio9]

The Ringling Bros. circus infiltrated animal rights groups, stole sensitive internal documents and illegally wiretapped circus opponents as part of a national conspiracy to disrupt animal rights groups, a lawyer told a Fairfax County, Va., jury Monday.

The allegations by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals launched a trial five years in the making. It also culminates a lengthy legal battle between PETA and Kenneth Feld, whose family has owned the circus for nearly 40 years.

During opening statements, PETA accused Feld of overseeing the espionage campaign against it and other animal rights organizations. Feld's attorney responded that infiltrating groups is not a crime, that PETA was not harmed by any alleged action by Feld or his employees and that Feld did not know of the operation or do anything illegal. Monitoring rights groups was necessary to protect the circus and its customers, Feld's attorney argued, and he noted donations to PETA have risen, not fallen, since the start of the conspiracy.

Feld was sued by PETA in Fairfax because headquarters for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is in the county. The trial is expected to last two weeks.

PETA's first witness was a man with no love lost for either side: Charles F. Smith, former chief financial officer of Feld Entertainment and the immediate supervisor of the investigator who launched the covert probes into PETA and others. In 1997, Feld fired Smith after he was arrested for surveilling his girlfriend. Smith then sued Feld and tipped off some animal rights activists to the circus's clandestine operations, PETA attorney Philip Hirschkop said in his opening statement.

Smith acknowledged Monday that he hired private investigator Richard Froemming to not only monitor such groups as PETA and the

[presidio9]

BTW, I was sorry to hear about the loss in your family. RIP Mr. Furley.

[ishabibble]

Dead dogs in a dumpster. Gassed to death in a special van. Thrown away like garbage behind a mall in VA. PETA is evil and it is dangerous.


Rte. 95 billboard at Christmas depicting the Madonna cradling a dead chicken. PETA cares less for human beings than it does for animals.

9/10/2001 PETA boycotts Dreamworks Studio because the logo is a small boy and a fishing pole. It's not about animals, it's about evil.

[sportutegrl]

9/10/2001 PETA boycotts Dreamworks Studio because the logo is a small boy and a fishing pole. It's not about animals, it's about evil.

I noticed that Dreamworks changed its logo from the boy fishing to a boy releasing balloons and wondered what was behind the change. Another mystery solved.

[puppypusher]

It's about time someone is keeping an eye on the activity of PETA. After all it is a terrorist organisation. Think of the People they have attacked and the Businesses they have damaged or destroyed.