Animal rights activists have "distorted and generalised" the facts on how the Tarzan Zerbini Circus has treated its animals over the years, it was claimed last night.

General Manager of the circus currently visiting Bermuda, Larry Solheim, said the animal cruelty allegations listed on the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA) website were mostly factually correct, but said they had been reported out of all context.

The Royal Gazette has been repeatedly contacted by concerned residents fearing for the safety and welfare of the three Asian elephants, one white tiger and numerous dogs that have been brought to the Island to perform in the circus.

Many have highlighted a long list of allegations on the PETA website, which claims that Tarzan Zerbini has failed to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibitions, as established in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

The website also claims: "The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Tarzan Zerbini Circus for failure to provide a veterinary care programme and medical records, and failure to properly maintain transport vehicles. Animals used by Tarzan Zerbini have caused serious injury to children."

Mr. Solheim said the long-established circus had a USDA exhibitors' licence, and had surpassed many agency standards in the care of its animals.

He said: "I give PETA credit - they do a very good campaign. And we agree with a lot of things on the agenda of the animal rights groups.

"We agree that animals should be kept in excellent condition and we agree with breeding them. We do all of that.

"A lot of it on the website comes from actual incidents, but a lot of it is distorted or generalised. They put it in a form to try and make us look as bad as possible. They have an agenda."

For example, Mr. Solheim said a claim on the website that the circus was cited three times in a year for an improperly maintained transport trailer for the elephants had failed to mention that the trailer had repeatedly been repaired by the circus. He said, in the end they opted to buy a new one.

And the website claimed that the SPCA in Canada had found there was no water or food available to the tigers; the cages for the monkeys were too small, not allowing them to stand up on their hind legs, and that the dogs and monkeys also did not water provided.

But Mr. Solheim said: "We have a very good relationship with the USDA. They are not the bad guys. We are regularly inspected, they tells us where we can improve and give us advice. Of course, we have been cited for infractions, but you can't tell me a restaurant that has not been cited, or a race track.

"We learn from these things; they are not meant to put us out of business, they are meant to educate us, but we try to stay ahead of everything, where ever we can."

When The Royal Gazette visited the circus animals yesterday, the three elephants were in a low voltage wired pen, which had limited space, but they were able to freely graze. They did not appear to be shackled or tied.

However, the white 500-pound tiger was kept in a cage measuring around ten feet by 23 feet. It will remain in the cage throughout its ten-day stay in Bermuda, and will only be removed to appear very briefly in the show.

It will also have been caged on the two-day journey travelling from its home in Florida to Bermuda, and will face the same journey when it returns next week.

Mr. Solheim said the cage was twice the size of the requirements of the licensing agencies.

He said the circus owned the elephants, but not the tiger. Fuji, he said, was from a facility in Florida and was leased to the circus with his handler and trainer Ricardo.

When asked why the two-year-old cat was pacing, Mr. Solheim said: "It would normally pace. The cage is bigger than we are required to have."

And when asked where the cat got its exercise, Ricardo, said the cage was its exercise.

He said he would be legally able to have three cats in the cage. The trainer said when the circus was on extended stays, he had an exercise pen for the tiger, but Bermuda was not considered an extended stay.

"Cats sleep 22 hours a day," said Mr. Solheim.

"Cats are very localised animals. They don't need vast space. When they are home (in Florida) they have a lot of room to run and they have a swimming pool.

"But the animal can stand up in there (cage), it is high, and the cage has cooling, if it is needed."

However, Mr. Solheim said if the circus went on a long tour around North America, which could be up to nine months long, it would probably lease the same tigers from the Florida facility where Fuji came from for the whole tour.

That would mean that the cats would be caged for much of that time, without returning to Florida.

Ricardo said he had been with the animal since it was born, and he too, lived in an attached small den to the cage.

He said Fuji was given an approved diet, including vitamins, and was regularly inspected and regulated by federal vets before travelling across any border. When it arrived at a new location, it had to be inspected again by approved vets.

However, animal-lovers in Bermuda have voiced concern and questioned the need to have animals in a circus when there are so many other human entertainers around the globe.

Alexandra Reck said: "What kind of natural humane life can an animal have when it is constantly chained between performances and during transport. A chained elephant cannot adequately exercise, socialise or roam. Home ranges for wild elephants can be up to 1,000 square kilometres.

"Is Tarzan Zerbini doing anything to improve the plight of wild elephants and ensure that future generations will be able to appreciate elephants in their natural environment?

"Breeding captive elephants only to force them into circus performers does nothing to benefit elephants' welfare, only Tarzan Zerbini's pocketbook."

And outspoken vet Maureen Ware-Cieters said she visited the circus at the weekend and saw that the elephants were shackled.

She questioned the behaviour of the elephants and said the Ministry of the Environment should never have allowed the circus to come to Bermuda with the animals.

She said: "Good God! What is wrong with the men in suits in the Ministry of the Environment and the Department of Environmental Protection? Whose idea was it to sign import permits and support this repugnant display of sustained animal abuse in the name of entertainment... and making a buck, of course, for the illusive promoters?

"Shame, shame on Bermuda. The right thing to do would be to confiscate the animals while they're on Bermuda soil, collect all the money paid out for circus tickets, and use it to fly these poor innocent circus victims to welfare-conscious zoos. Sadly, they probably cannot be reintegrated into the wild."

Mr. Solheim said none of the animals were ever tranquillised, unless specified by a vet, and none have been trained using whips and other punitive measures.

He added: "The types of tricks we have in the show all stem from animal instincts. For example, some circuses would have an elephant with all four feet on a ball, but that's unnatural.

"When we get a baby elephant, we see how they like to play; some will like to throw balls. We encourage them through treats, so they do it when we ask them to. They enjoy the performing part."

Mr. Solheim said the daughter of the circus owner, Tarzan Zerbini, had an elephant breeding facility and had helped to conduct elephant research with various agencies.

He said the circus probably knew more about elephant behaviour than the agencies themselves.

He added: "You know, you can't ask an animal to trust you if it doesn't feel comfortable. It's ridiculous for people to assume that we would beat a $100,000 elephant or a white tiger, which would cost $30,000.

"We do everything we have to do for these animals, and more."

When asked why, in the 21st Century, do circuses still feature animal acts instead of human acts such as with Cirque du Soliel, Mr. Solheim replied because that was what the people wanted.