Amy B. Ling Circus: Its Closure: Article Analysis

In the article “PETA urges L.A. to ban all wild animals from circus performances”, Alexia Fernandez highlights the speed with which animal activists go in order to free wild animals from being used in circuses. According to the spokesman for the Ringling Bros, after L.A. “banned circuses from using bullhooks to manage elephants” in 2014, PETA activists demanded that circuses remove wild animals from their performances and Barnum & Bailey Circus begged to differ by arguing that animals in their facilities are taken good care of and are not mistreated (Fernandez, 2016). In conclusion, both sides of the arguments believe that neither is misinformed.

Animals are supposed to be treated with respect. Examples of disrespect include entertainment such as Sea World and circuses. But instead of living harmoniously with them. Humans have tampered with their way of life. The deadly combination of habitat destruction and poaching has eliminated numerous species. Both parties are aware of the aftermath. However only one party is capable of making a change. Time is running out and it dosn't look good. If a change dosn't occur soon, the few remaining wild Elephants will become extinct.

Zoos, SeaWorld, and circuses are places for families to enjoy entertainment. However, most people do not realize how the animals in each of these establishments are handled. Yes, they all bring in revenue and present the tricks these animals can do, yet these places preform detrimental acts to the animals. For example, the killer whales at SeaWorld are sometimes starved if they do not perform the way the trainer wants them to. In comparison, circuses torture lions and tigers until they are submissive to how the show-people want them to act. Zoos do not necessarily torture their animals, but it is proven the animals live much shorter lives in captivity. “Lives of animals in the wild versus captivity are literally worlds apart, and even the best captive facilities can’t recreate the conditions of the wild — not exactly. Most don’t even try, leaving animals in tiny enclosures with no socialization, enrichment or joy. Captivity is unnatural and unhealthy” (Sentenac). People are starting to recognize the danger of continuing these practices, but there’s a long way to go.Furthermore, animals in all of these places have suffered many traumatizing and even deadly events. There was a recent report that two circus lions, whom had severe head injuries, were killed by poachers who snuck into the sanctuary. “Last year poachers bypassed an advanced security system at a lodge near the town of Tzaneen in the Limpopo province, killing two lions by feeding them poisoned meat” (Graham).

This is good news for elephant lovers everywhere, but for the lions, tigers, monkeys, and bears it’s not something to celebrate. Although the big, colorful tents and cheery music may draw a crowd, circuses are notoriously known for the treatment of their animals, and for good reason, too. According to DoSomething.org, “virtually 96 percent of a circus animal’s life is spent in chains or cages” (“11 Facts”). These cages have no separate area for eating, sleeping or defecating, which can lead to sickness, irritability, and even death. When not performing, the time spent out of these cages is to teach the animals to perform outlandish tasks, using training methods such as whipping, food deprivation, and electric prods (“11 Facts”).

Throughout the story there is circus imagery, which is significant to the story in several ways. A circus is commonly known for being the entertainment for a large group of people and is also characterized by a variety of acts and events designed to arouse the awe and fascination of the crowds. The young African-American men in the story are forced to participate in a variety of events designed for the sole purpose of entertaining the crowd of white men. This is effective because it is very compelling in the way whites used to treat blacks. They looked at them such as "circus animals" and felt empowered to do whatever they wanted, making them look like clowns.

So, the question remains, do the animals need to be “saved” from the circus? The side that believes in the circus are devastated when the Ringling Brothers Circus takes their final bow. In the article by Sarah Maslin and Nate Schwebor from the New York Times, “After 146 Years, Ringling Brothers Circus takes its Final Bow”, Ashley Vargas expressed her feelings of loss after working with the elephants for their whole lives. She states, “to this day, the final performance with the elephants is the hardest performance I have ever had to go through”.

The circus has been around for many years, but in recent years the circus has been getting a bad rap. The most famous circus in the United States, which started under the big top, will be closing after a amazing 146 year run. Barnum and Baily will be closing due to animal rights activists, which fought them in many expensive court battles that ending their world famous elephant acts. For a long time, the circus was a dream for kids to have fun and watch the impossible be done. The first cirus were in Europe, but Americans gave their spin on them which included collapsible tents, so they can move on the go.

People have looked to these shows for family tradition, entertainment, and the lively atmosphere. Circus supporters confide in the facade that the circuses present to them: “We are committed to ensuring our animal family receives the highest standards of care. [...] Our animals receive better medical care than we do” (Ringling Bros). It is easy to believe the claims that these renowned companies tell the public, but in this case, the stories and accusations from former employees, animal welfare associations, governmental organizations, and even regular members of society should not be overlooked. It is obvious that circus animals do not live in the conditions that circuses advertise.

Think about how we will look back on our cruel forms of entertainment in the future. Will we be proud of the way we treated these great animals, with abuse as neglect? Today we turn our heads away from reality and what happens behind the scenes of animal entertainment. However, we can’t turn our heads forever. Around the world, there is so much more to animal entertainment than what meets the eye. These animals have been torn away from their beautiful, natural homes and brought to a prison of concrete. In these prisons, they are beaten, starved and tortured all for our money and entertainment. These animals lives should not be taken from them for us. Our money and happiness should not be worth these animal’s lives. Circus, theme park and zoo animals all suffer from aggression towards trainers, mental disabilities and physical injuries. These animals should not have to suffer any longer.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus has recently declared the end of their career and disbanded the circus. Since the disbandment an ongoing discussion concerning the circus and its ethics has been widely discussed by many different groups; but disagreement can be most strongly seen between the discourse of animal welfare groups, and the circus performers themselves. The topics being addressed is how these different populations perceives the events surrounding the circus’s disbandment and what is actually more beneficial for the circus animals and the performers in the long run after the greatest show on Earth is over. The discontinuities often seen among these two groups when the circus is discussed are: the languages of unnatural behavior, abuse, the description of culture, sports, art, along with the

The article “Animal Activists Finally Have Something To Applaud At Ringling Bros. Circus: Its Closure”, by Amy B. Wang and published by The Washington Post is about Ringling Brothers and Bailey Circus coming to an end. It shows that animal rights groups have strong emotions towards abusing animals for entertainment. Shortly after Feld Entertainment (A production company and owner of Ringling Brothers and Bailey Circus) stopped using elephants but shortly after Ringling Brothers announced their permanent leave from the circus.

Animal captivity has been an ongoing debate for over 60 years. There should be no question about whether animal captivity is wrong. “Hundreds of thousands of wild animals across the world are snatched from natural habitats, forced into captivity and subjected to abuse, both mentally and physically, in the name of entertainment and profit.” (World Animal Protection 1) Places such as the circus use abusive training methods such as, hooks, chains, whips, electric rods, and blunt instruments. (Born Free USA 1) Animals deserve to live freely in the wild. Their freedom is taken away the moment they are put in a cage. When animals are brought into

There are many types of animals used for entertainment such as circuses, dog fighting, zoos, and rodeos. All of these types of entertainment are not natural for these animals which is a form of abuse. Often times they are wild animals that don’t belong in cages and are not able to do things that are in their instinct to do. This is especially true about zoos and circuses. Animals are not able to roam free and instead kept in small cages. Even in optimal settings experts say that it is difficult to provide for the needs of wild animals.(Lemonick) Children should learn to respect animals and not see them as entertainment. People should only support animal free circuses and raise awareness how animals are abused for entertainment.

The life of a circus animal is hard and demanding. It is not an acceptable way of life for an animal. Circuses would quickly lose their appeal if the public were more aware of their mistreatments of these animals. Many circuses do not have much money and as a result the animals suffer from inadequate care. These animals spend most of their time in small cages used for transportation. The Animal Welfare Act provides cage requirements, but many circuses fail to follow this law. Even the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus was cited for 65 violations over a two-year period according to Florence Lambert. When traveling, animals spend hours, even days between sites in confinement..

Animals have been a main focus in circus performances around the world for many centuries; however, in recent history, there have been far more regulations put on the use of these creatures, stemming mainly from how they are treated by both their trainers and the circus as a whole. Whether it be on the federal or local and state-level, there has been a definite increase in the questionable legality of America’s circus industry due to the neglect and abuse of the participating animals, courts’ decisions highlighting the true importance of the issue. These rulings make one ask the question: What types of regulations could be put in place in all circuses to ensure that the animals involved are not abused in the process? In the end, many