So Ringling Bros. is in town next week and I considered taking the kidlet, who is 3. I recall going a few times as a child myself and don’t think I hated it. The last time we went I was probably 11 or 12, and there were protesters there. One gave me a pamphlet on our way out, about the elephants being overworked and mistreated. It played on the slave angle quite a bit, IIRC. Anyway, It kind of ruined the circus for me for a while there. And between that, and all the other reports I’ve heard and read over the years about bad treatment of the animals, especially the elephants, I’m a little conflicted.
Is mistreatment an issue, still? Does attending the circus put me in the position of advocating abuse and exploitation of these animals? Or am I overanalyzing, and it means nothing more than wanting to let my kid oooh over the acrobats and eat cotten candy 'till he’s blue?
Can an ethical person attend, and enjoy, a circus?
In Spain, many circuses have all but ditched the large animals. Last time I went to a traditional circus they had dogs and snakes, that’s it. Two of the snakes were part of a magic act, but mostly they were a side show.
We went backstage after (we kind of know the owner of the circus), and those dogs actually got to do things like come up to say “hi”; half my dog-owning neighbors don’t let the dog sniff strangers - or other dogs, or run, or…
Dad asked about the snakes, and we were told that it was almost as difficult to keep two as two dozen, so the mage had this educational little zoo.
Generally, the animals (especially in an outfit like Ringling Brothers) are not mistreated. Why would they? An elephant is a big investment for the show, and if they are hurt due to mistreatment, they can’t go on.
The people handing out pamphlets think that any sort of animal show is automatically mistreatment. Hell, the complain if you keep a pet (it’s supposed to be called a “companion”).
I cannot, in good conscience, go to the circus. I don’t judge those who do, but I do feel that it’s animal abuse. I’m not big into animal rights, but I don’t feel that they are put on this earth for our entertainment. Just my .02.
I agree. Years ago I had some contact with the circus business, and everything I saw led me to believe that the animals were treated extremely well.
And on top of the argument of investment, consider this: Do you think many people are going to abuse animals such as elephants and tigers, and then put themselves in close quarters with them to perform? If they did, I doubt they’d live long.
These are wild animals. They are trained, but not tame. And they WILL kill you if you mistreat them. That’s not to say they are unpredictable in absolute terms. Elephants in particular get along very well with humans, and can generally be trusted. But if mistreated, the animals are capable of doing something about it. Nobody in their right mind would mistreat these animals and be around to tell about it much longer.
Having said that, I’d like to tell a quick story about an experience I had a few years ago to illustrate the trust between trainers and animals.
I visited the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin. They have a working circus there, complete with a family-run elephant act. At one point during the day they brough several elephants out to some bleachers to demonstrate how they are trained. They put the elephants through their paces, and then did something that amazed me.
The head trainer stood with the largest elephant, and invited the audience (about 100 people) to gather round and touch it. The people came down from the bleachers and did just that. The elephant stood patiently with no apparent discomfort.
Imagine the trust between human and animal here. In our world of litigation, a crowd is invited to walk around touching an elephant. This was a huge animal, capable of doing massive damage had it been so inclined - or even by accident!
I can’t believe the elephant would have allowed that if it didn’t care for the situation. And I don’t buy the idea that the animal was somehow frightened into submission. It doesn’t wash.