ANIMALS IN CIRCUSES
Disclaimer: This site is not here to attack all circuses, I enjoy going to circuses that don't exploit animals, however I do am against circuses that rely on animals to make a profit.
Although some children dream of running away to join the circus, it is likely that most animals forced to perform in circuses dream of running away from them. Colourful pageantry disguises the fact that animals used in circuses are mere captives forced to perform unnatural and often painful acts. Circuses would quickly lose their appeal if the details of the animals' treatment, confinement, training, and "retirement" became widely known.
Animals in cirucses are forced to perform degrading and unnatural acts, wearing silly outfits, for human pleasure. The training of these animals usually involves instilling fear in the animal by punishment for non-performance. They are transported around the country-side, housed in small cages, a far cry from their natural enviroments.
No Funds, No Fun
Many circus operations don't have much money, and, as a result, the animals they use often suffer from inadequate care. The animals, most of whom are quite large and naturally active, are forced to spend most of their lives in the small cages used to transport them, and they are allowed out of their cages only for the short periods when they must perform. The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) merely requires that the animals have enough room to stand up and turn around when confined, yet even these minimal regulations are routinely ignored. In just a two-year period, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was cited for 65 violations of the AWA.An animal advocate who worked undercover in a travelling circus was surprised that the circus was often unable to provide adequate water for the animals. Such entourages may visit 150 towns a year, and a clean water supply is not readily available in every location. As a result, drinking water is limited, and cleaning the animals and their cages may take low priority, causing a real hardship for animals like elephants, who normally bathe frequently. Food is often equally limited.
Climatic Changes
Climatically, the circus environment is quite different from the animals' natural habitats. The hot summer months can be especially hard on animals like bears, while others, like lions, suffer most from the cold. George Lewis, in Elephant Tramp, tells of traveling with Ringling Bros. in the winter: "When we went to unload the elephants, we found the long trip had been too much for one of the oldest, Queen. She was lying dead inside a car." Veterinarians qualified to treat exotic animals aren't always present or available, and animals have suffered and died due to a lack of proper medical attention.During the winter off-season, animals used in circuses may be kept in travelling crates or in barn stalls; some are even kept in trucks. Few circuses have the funds or the desire to put much money into comfortable winter shelters, since off-season housing is used for only a few months per year. Such unrelieved physical confinement has very harmful physical and psychological effects on animals: A study conducted by the Born Free Foundation found that confined elephants spend 22% of their time in abnormal actions, such as repeated head-bobbing or swaying, and confined bears spend about 30% of their time pacing.
The Tricks
The tricks that animals are forced to perform--bears balancing on balls, apes riding motorcycles, elephants standing on two legs--are physically uncomfortable and behaviorally unnatural. The whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other tools used during circus acts are reminders that the animals are being forced to perform. These superficial "performances" teach audiences nothing about how animals behave under natural circumstances. Animals in circuses are often portrayed as either ferocious or stupid compared to their "brave" or "commanding" human counterparts; their true nature is never seen.
I hope that this may provide you with a bit of an insite as to why animal circuses are an old barbaric tradition that in not safe or necessary. It does not provide children with the education on animals, for circus animals act different to ones in natural surroundings.
Speaking from personal experience as a child I was taken to a circus that had animal acts and although I enjoyed it at the time, I realise now how disgusting it was and if I had the choice I wish I had never gone. Because children don't understand what is really going on to those poor animals it is up to parents and friends to teach them so they don't grow up to regret things that they have done.
What you can do
- contact your local council to find out if they have banned animals performing in circuses. If not write a letter or start a petition in your area. - boycott any circuses that use animals in their act. - support HUMAN ONLY circuses. Circuses don't need animals to be fun, put your faith in the humans, it's great for your karma.A list of circuses that don't use animals
