I am lanning to take my son to the circus next week when its in town.
However, on the news last night they had peta alleging that the elephants were being mistreated!
Are they right ?
Of course PETA is going to say that. Hell, PETA thinks it’s animal abuse to allow a frick’n goldfish to swim around in a bowl.
Don’t pay attention to PETA. Bring your son to the circus. He’ll love it.
And while you’re at it, check out my favorite PETA sight:
I have a friend who used to work with various circuses. I’m not sure exactly what his job title was, but he was basically a safety inspector for various circuses. It was simply his job to show up at various times for surprise checkups and make sure that they weren’t cutting corners. Anyway, once he was finished with his inspections, he would often hang around and talk with some of the people who worked for the circus, and just from what he saw, they took great care of their animals. The animals are a vital part of what they’re doing, and it’s not in their best interests to mistreat them.
Now, I’m not saying that elephants have never been mistreated, but as with all incidents such as that, mistreatment is the exception and not the rule. Take your son to the circus and enjoy yourselves.
I need to start proofreading. I just realized how many times I used various and said things over and over and how I was redundant when I said things the same way a lot. I need to work on that.
Cases of mistreatment of animals by circuses have been often documented. This is one of the reasons why many modern circuses (e.g. Cirque du Soleil) don’t have animal acts.
What’s the name of the circus that you are considering favouring with your patronage? Perhaps you could ask their PR department how they respond to this criticism, and you might get a better (or worse) feeling after speaking to them.
You can read some information at this site,
Animal Rights Canada - Circuses & Travelling Shows FAQ
I hope someone can find a site that represents the opposite point of view.
Personally, I avoid traditional circuses like the plague. I’m neither an animal rights activist nor a supporter, in any way, of PETA, but I truly do think that the circus is inherently damaging to wild animals. It’s difficult to imagine how spending six months out of the year in cages, being transported hither and yon across the country cannot be damaging to animals that are not domesticated.
But, it’s a personal opinion. I don’t mind eating them, but seeing them abused and degraded for amusement makes me somewhat queasy.
I’ll join Crafter in disregarding PETA as a mostly frivolous group.
I do, however, have a problem with wild animals being trained to perform. I support the educational and conservational mission of zoos, but object whenever wild animals are made to perform.
We’ll just ignore the fact that most circuses (except for the largest) are incredibly boring. If you aren’t going to Ringling Bros. just go to the Reno Circus Circus and you can see many of the same lame acts.
Vanilla, did you really think there would be a GQ answer to this question?
To the extent there is one, it is “there are animal cruelty laws which circuses must obey in each municipality they visit, but enforcement is often lacking and critics say the existing laws are insufficient in any case.”
But this is really more of a Great Debates thing. I’m sending it over.
I just saw a documentary about the lives of circus animals. I think it was called Dumbo.
Knowing how elephants live in the wild it can only be sad to see them put on display to amuse the teeming masses.
Our affection for elephants probably stems from the human qualities they exhibit. They live in close family units and take care of each other. Elephants live as long as we do and have better memories. They feel joy and sorrow, they play, and they feel anger. Elephants cry.
By removing an elephant from it’s natural environment or by denying it the opportunity to live in a normal social group we are abusing them. Abuse is not limited to beating or starving an animal. A circus is no place for an elephant.
Imagine if you were removed from your family, isolated, and then coerced into performing tricks for others. Wouldn’t being shackled or confined to a cell on a daily basis be fun?
I have never considered myself an activist and think of the well meaning folks over at PETA to be just a little looney. It doesn’t mean that they are always wrong.
I don’t go to the circus, it makes me sad to see the animals performing stupid tricks.
Vanilla - perhaps you could teach your son about elephants and let him decide if he wants to go and see them at the circus.
A good idea, thank you.
I am soo sorry manhatten, I was wrong again!
you may pop me on the head with a straight dope book now…
** vanilla ** When my son was little, the circus came to town. Hallmark type visions clouded my head and I bought tickets.
what a disaster. In the first place, Hallmark never warns you of the commercialism that went on. It was a non stop commercial for the products that were being hawked everywhere. You ran a gaunlet of sleezy, expensive but cheaply made plastic things before you took your seat, but, naturally, the ringmaster would shout out to one and all "
Wave your magic swords to make the lions come out" and all
and of course, there were vendors going up and down the aisles with all of the same things you managed to not buy a moment before.
Did my son enjoy it? yea, but he also got frustrated with not being able to see over other people’s heads, the noise and confusion not to mention the not getting all of the things he wanted.
Ok, so this doesn’t even TOUCH the concept of “are circuses moral things to do to animals” but I gotta come down on the side of “unusual cruelty to moms and kids” side.
MHO, of course.
I’m not a PETA freak, but I also don’t believe animals are put on earth to be pulled from thier habitats and carted around from place to place performing tricks for us. I also don’t think large animals like elephants are generally “trained” to perform said tricks without the use of electric prods and other nice items. Amusing to watch? Sure. Cruel? Absolutely. The circus is one issue I agree with PETA on.
Should you take your son? That’s up to you. Would I take a child? No.
(The post above is my personal opinion. Your milage may vary)
I say take the kid to the circus. While there have been documented cases of abuse, most trainers treat their animals rather well. Even a sadistic trainer has many pragmatic reasons for not hurting the animals:
1 PETA and other groups are always watching for such things. The chances of discovery are high and the consequences great.
2 Many circus animals are fragile in spots. Elephants are prone to serious skin infections. A sick, malnourished or injured animal can not perform.
3 An animal that obeys its trainer out of fear will attack the trainer as soon as it thinks it can win. An animal that obeys a trainer out of love will not attack them. Being able to turn your back to a tiger without risk of injury or death is a much better situation.
Watch any show of Sigfried and Roy. Their genuine love of their tigers obvious, and clearly genuine. These animals sleep on silk pillows and eat a better class of steak than I can afford. I've seen this relationship in all the circuses I've been to.
Animals in circuses may not have ideal living conditions, but they are not killed by poachers for tusks, or skins.
Take your son to the Big Top and let him make up his own mind. If he feels sad for tha animals, you can give him money to donate to anti-circus group. If he likes it, you can explain to him that there just isn't room for elephants and lions in your house.