Actress Edie Falco has urged New York fans to boycott an upcoming set of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus shows due to the company's alleged mistreatment of animals.

The former The Sopranos star has filmed a new video for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), in which she asks parents to skip the event at Brooklyn's Barclays Center this week (begs18Mar13), claiming elephants suffer constant abuse at the hands of their trainers.

In the advert, she says, "Mother elephants in the circus cannot help their babies, but we can. Never take your children to the circus. Let's teach our children to respect and show compassion for all beings - both human and animal."

The clip also features footage of baby elephants allegedly being tortured with whips and electric prods by Ringling workers, as well as testimony from a former employee, who claims music is played at an excessively high volume during all shows in order to drown out screams from the elephants.

Animal lover and mother of two Falco insists she was glad to lend her voice to the campaign, adding, "It was important for me to team up with Peta to speak for the elephants because there's still so much that goes on that I don't know about. What actually goes on behind the scenes in regards to animal abuse. The more I hear, the more I'm shocked."