Todd was Correspondent for the Day with an eloquent letter asking Richmond to ban the use of bullhooks on circus elephants be banned in Richmond. Todd inspired a City Council resolution, still under consideration, to ban bullhooks on elephants in Richmond. This impending resolution was in part responsible for the Ringling Bros. circus to announce that they will retire their elephants by 2018.
To quote from today’s lead editorial:
Todd Woodson attended the March 4 event honoring The Times-Dispatch’s 2014 Correspondents of the Day. His Sept. 29 letter called on Richmond to ban the use of bullhooks when training circus elephants. On March 5, Ringling Bros. announced it would phase out elephant acts. It cited changing attitudes among the reasons for its decision. Woodson expressed sentiments embraced by a growing number of Americans. He made a difference.
After the Ringling Bros. announcement, Woodson forwarded an excerpt from Dostoyevsky’s “The Brothers Karamozov”: “Love the animals: God gave them the rudiments of thought and an untroubled joy. Do not trouble them, do not torment them, do not take their joy from them. Do not go against God’s purpose. Man, do not exalt yourself above the animals: they are sinless.”
Woodson also is one of central Virginia’s most accomplished jazz musicians. The designation “Renaissance Man” applies to him.”