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15 Reasons to Boycott the Circus 1. Government inspection
reports reveal ongoing mistreatment of animals in circuses. Because of
continued abuse of circus elephants, there is a pending lawsuit against
Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
2. Many people claim
that circuses are conservation programs for endangered species (such as the
Asian elephant). However no circus animal has ever been released to the
wild and the conservation claim is merely a way to justify the exploitation of
animals for profit.
3. Sweden, Austria,
Costa Rica, India, Finland and Singapore have all banned or restricted the use
of animals in entertainment. However, the US lags behind.
4. Elephants are trained
to perform unnatural acts by the use of a “bullhook”, which is a 2-3 foot long
club or stick with a sharp metal hook attached to the top. It is
repeatedly used to beat, hit and poke the animals, often leaving permanent
scars. There are numerous undercover videos and testimony from past
circus employees corroborating this information.
 5. Heavy, metal, and
short chains are used to confine circus elephants. The elephants are
chained by one front leg and one back leg, preventing them from laying
down. The chaining of elephants also prevents them from interacting with
other elephants, which is a natural behavior for elephants as they are very
social creatures.
6. Ringling Brothers
typically transport the elephants from city to city by train, chained by one
front foot and one back foot and unable to lay down. They are also kept
in cramped conditions for over eight hours without stopping for water.
They are trained for 11 months and the one month they are not being trained,
they are still confined in horrid conditions. 7. Elephant
transportation vehicles lack climate control and are forced to stand for hours
in their own waste. The are compacted into small spaces for days on end.
8. In the wild,
elephants live in large, sociable herds and walk up to 25 miles every
day. In addition to the physical abuse of circus elephants, they are also
deprived of their freedom to roam and engage in their instinctual behavior,
which includes socializing with other elephants.
9. Although minimum
legal protections are provided in the Animal Welfare Act, the law does not
provide adequate protection for circus animals. Often a veterinarian
isn’t even on site and local vets are not knowledgeable about the unique
medical needs of exotic animals. Circuses are frequently cited by the
USDA, the agency responsible for enforcing the Animal Welfare Act, for failure
to keep veterinary records, for providing moldy or rancid food and no water,
for storing chemicals near the animals’ food supply, and for stocking expired
medications.
10. Every major circus
that uses animals has been cited for violating the Animal Welfare Act.
These circuses are almost always given a slap on the wrist and forced to pay a
minimal fine.
11. Enforcement of the
Animal Welfare Act is very difficult because the USDA, the agency responsible
for enforcement, only has 100 inspectors to monitor conditions at approximately
12,000 facilities.
12. Although poaching is
a problem in Africa, there are wildlife conservation parks that are constantly
patrolled to ensure the safety of animals. Elephant poaching has
decreased since the highly enforced ban on the possession and sale of
ivory. In recent years, the elephant population has significantly
increased due to conservation efforts.
13. Although circuses
claim that they are a form of educating the public about elephants, there is no
education in watching the exploitation of elephants that are cruelly trained to
perform unnatural acts. Circuses teach children that it is acceptable to
exploit animals. No research has been shown that attending circuses
increases public concern about the status of an endangered species.
14. Elephants in the
circus, regardless of how much they are “trained”, are still wild animals capable
of and have a history of lashing out, escaping, and thus posing a risk to
public safety.
15. Elephants in the
circus often carry diseases such as tuberculosis (aka “TB”) and can infect
humans with this disease. Note that there is no cure for this disease in
either elephants or humans.
The fact is, animals do not naturally ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, jump through rings of fire, or piggy-back each other. To force them to perform these confusing and physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other painful tools of the trade.
Please do not support any animal circus. Animal abuse is not entertainment.
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