Today as I am driving to work, I hear an advertisement on
the radio that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is coming
to Washington D.C. in a couple weeks. The lady on the commercial sounded so
excited, apparently the theme this year is dragons. To me, circuses are so
obviously cruel I forget how people can actually talk about them like they are
a fun and something to be enjoyed. Even as a child, I remember my mother
becoming upset about the circus, and she would not let me go because she said
they were inhumane. Thanks to her, and my own sense of morale, I have always
boycotted circuses, and urge those around me not to attend. Unfortunately,
year after year, they continue to come to town. I always feel extreme sadness about
the fact people still pay to attend circuses.
The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA) has repeatedly exposed the abuse and neglect animals in the
circus endure. Although the lights and the tricks cleverly disguise what is
going on, the animals performing in the circus are not actually having a good
time. According to PETA, the animals are trained these tricks using cruel
methods. Even though it is denied, there is evidence Ringling Bros. and Barnum
& Bailey Circus continues to use bull hooks and other methods that cause
pain to get the animals to learn tricks. Some people think animal activists are
exaggerating and inflating what the animals experience, however, most accounts
come from former circus employees themselves.
I have had conversations with people who still believe circus
is a lot of fun, and I think this perception is a result of a lack of
understanding about the needs of animals. Research on elephants show circuses
are not a suitable environment for their needs, because they enjoy roaming
miles each day in the wild. Other circus animals such as tigers also do not
thrive in circuses because they do not meet their primal needs. A life in
captivity will never fully meet the natural needs of these wild animals.
Many people are completely oblivious to the harsh living conditions
animals in the circus experience. Animals in the circus live a life on the
road, which means hours in train cars and chains as they are transported from
city to city. No matter how much the circus claims to be fun for the animals,
no living being can enjoy being trapped in a small, dark box car, sometimes
forced to stand in their own waste for long periods of time. As long as the
circus exists, it will be cruel. The animals will never choose to perform, so
there will always be force to get them to do the tricks that are dubbed
entertaining.
Why do you think so many people still go to the circus, even
though there is so much documentation on the cruel conditions the animals face?
What have you done to help circus animals? If the circus is coming to you soon,
check out page on steps to take.
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