11/02/2024
Action for Animals Austin (and Austin for Cruelty Free Entertainment) is proud to endorse Kathy Tovo for mayor in the upcoming city council election.
As council member in 2014, Ms. Tovo was the first city council member to sign on as a sponsor for our sister group's proposed ban on the use of bullhooks on elephants in circuses. Throughout the two year process, Ms. Tovo never wavered in her support for this ordinance. In 2016, on the day of the city council meeting to vote on the ordinance, Ms. Tovo led the city council and the mayor on a lengthy discussion on the benefits of passing the ban on bullhooks. She was, in fact, the reason the ban on bullhooks passed by a vote 10-1. Without her support, the animal protection community in Austin would still be working to protect animals in circuses in Austin. With this ban in place, Austin joined a small but progressive list of cities in the USA that had passed similar ordinances. Shortly afterwards, Ringling Bros Circus announced it was ending the use of elephants in their shows, and in 2017, Ringling Bros announced they were ending their 146-year run and would close all of their shows. This ended a 25-year campaign against Ringling Bros Circus among the animal rights community led by Action for Animals Austin. We could not have done it without Ms. Tovo's support. For that reason, Action for Animals Austin (or ACFE) is endorsing Ms. Tovo for mayor in the upcoming election.