OK, friend got me and my son tix to go to the circus tomorrow. How guilty do I need to feel? Seriously, torn up about this because on the one hand, I LOVED the circus as a child and want my son to experience it as well.
On the other hand, I abhor animal cruelty, and have heard plenty of rumors and allegations. Have their been improvements over the years? Or are circuses as evil towards animals as PETA extremists would have us believe?
Their animals that live in cages, not wildlife habitats. What do you expect?
This is probably more of a Debate than a General Question.
I would tend to think that you do more to support animal cruelty by going to McDonald’s than by going to the circus, but I could be mistaken.
I’m sure if you’re concerned you’ve already seen it, but here is PETA’s page: Animals in Entertainment: Circuses, SeaWorld, and Beyond | PETA
Circus elephants tend to live longer than zoo elephants.
PETA had someone sneak in as a member of people doing the Elephant Experience Weekend at a sanctuary. They got a picture of a four hnudred pound elephant calf being prodded with an aknus (the pointed hook thing they bitch about) and ran it back and forth to make it look like the trainer was beating the calf.
PETA isn’t to be believed.
You’re right, probably should go into GD thread, sorry. If moderators want to move? I’m still reading either way.
Well, you could stop going to the circus and convince everyone else not to go, that way, the circus will go bankrupt, lay off all the workers, and kill all the animals. Would that make you feel better?
The question to ask yourself is this:
How do you feel about large/rare animals being kept in captivity and trained for the amusement of humans?
If you are fundamentally ok with the concept (provided that the animals are treated well) then it would depend on the specific circus.
If not, I imagine all circuses would make you feel guilty
Is that the normal course when a zoo or circus goes bankrupt, to kill all of the animals?
I would have expected them to be sold or donated to other zoos or wildlife preserves.
Yeah Susanann went a bit extreme. Not worth a reply.
I’m looking more specifically for abuse vs well-treated animals. Cage are obvious not wonderful things, but there’s a significant difference between a well-treated animal in a cage and an abused animal who is beaten.
I’ve worked with elephants in tv productions who were well cared for and loved by their trainers, several of whom lived with their trainer for several decades. Likewise I know magicians who do dove acts who treat their doves very kindly, and there’s little doubt in my mind that Sigfried and Roy loved their tigers and treated them well also. Animals in movies and tv are generally treated very well these days, with lots of oversight to ensure they aren’t injured. (That wasn’t the case several decades ago.)
So yes, I see a very big difference between training animals for the entertainment of humans and abusing animals. I’m more curious to see if circuses have improved in how they treat their animals. Is abuse rampant these days? Has it been removed from the process or is it really just hidden?
I would imagine it would vary from circus to circus, esp. how they’re managed at an upper level, although of course one particular big name springs to mind…
Are you sure it has animals in it? I took my son to the circus a couple of months ago, and it was exclusively human - acrobats, jugglers, clowns and sundry. I didn’t miss the elephants and lions at all.
Don’t know, haven’t been in decades. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow…
Do you think zoos are all sitting around with empty cages and lots of extra cash for food and to hire more caretakers and veterinarians, and just waiting for all the circuses to go bankrupt so they can take in all these extra animals? Exactly which zoos today can afford to buy, transport, and feed all these extra animals, and just who wants all these extra animals anyways?
I am not aware of any current great zoo animal shortage. It is my guess that if the circuses close then all the workers will be laid off and all/most of the animals will be killed.
…and Ditto for all the horses, bulls, and calves if all the rodeos shut down.
Do you know what happened to all the oxen after the last wagon train?
You went to a carnival (not a circus)
Oh, that it explains it. Thanks.
It is my guess that if the circuses close then all the workers will be laid off and all/most of the animals will be killed.
You are welcome.
Soudsn ore like Cirque du Soleil rather than a true circus, such as Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus.
The last circus I went to was Ringling Brothers-Barnum And Bailey.
The lions, tigers, and elephants seemed to enjoy performing.
The troupe of dogs definitely LOVED to do their tricks.
The whip used by the lion and tiger tamer was clearly just a noisemaker.
PETA naturally protested the circus. The pamphlet they gave me was filled with unsupported assertions.
So it’s complete conjecture on your part that circuses generally kill all their animals when they go out of business? And it’s based entirely on your conjecture that zoos are filled to capacity?
My guess would be that there are animal parks–of varying repute–out there that wouldn’t hesitate to take in the kind of exotic animals that would be cast off by a circus.
And if it were possible for someone to put an end to circuses, then someone’s point is probably that no future generations of animals would be subject to that treatment, regardless of what happens to the current one.
