The Mistreatment of Circus Animals

Throughout the years, we have been made to believe that wildlife in the entertainment industry is captivating. Even though these animals may seem to be happy and healthy, the truth is the majority of these animals suffer a great amount of abuse. SeaWorld and the Circus have made a name for themselves, by claiming that he/she provides a safe a friendly environment. However, what is not shown during these performance acts is the abuse these animals suffer, or the amount of stress and anxiety the animals are under. Wildlife in captivity for exotic animals can cause a serious amount of stress along with abuse, anxiety which can lead to a fatal result for the animals and the people who take care of them.

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”).

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.

Specific Purpose for the use of animals in circus productions: To persuade my audience that animals should not be kept for circus productions.

They are taken away from their families which hurts them emotionally. They are raised by humans who are trained to care for them, but they cannot substitute for the love of their mates. In addition, some of the animals that are born in a circus environment do not understand who they are or what group they belong to. For instance, if you take a tiger or elephant that has been living in the circus for most of their lifetime and bring it back to their original habitat, they will not be able to survive. They will not understand what is to hunt or to survive in the wild. Bentham explained, “You should be motivated to act, not for the sake of your own pleasure, but also for the sake of others’ pleasures, too.” A circus can entertain large crowds, but at the end of the day, circus representatives are taking animals from their natural habitats to pleasure others and they have no right to do so. Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey’s circus made a great ethical decision to support the animals’ rights and support that animals should not be used for entertainment anymore.

Although the issues regarding circus cruelty have gained much-needed attention in recent years, circus animals still suffer from lives of confinement, social deprivation and violent methods of training.

Premise 4: Poor caretaking puts the health of both animals and the surrounding people in danger. Animals in Circus Performances, Cute or Cruel? Circuses are filled with fun, wild acts including amazing acrobats, comedic clowns, and exotic animals. But unlike human entertainers, animals do not choose the circus life; they are unluckily forced into it.

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.

When adults take their children to the circus, they expect their child to be mesmerized. What is there for a child not to be captivated by? Between the dazzling display of lights, the vast amount of animals, and the entertaining clowns all over the place, the circus is a great experience for any child. While the tigers are jumping through hoops of fire, the elephants are being prepared to go out into the center ring. The audience is going wild and the children are screaming in excitement. Before the elephants begin their march into the ring, the trainers, behind the scenes, take one last hit at them with their bull hooks. One elephant trumpets in pain as the hook gashes its skin. While all this is going on, a lion is imprisoned in a cage

“When I look at animals held captive I think of slavery. Animals in circuses represent the domination and oppression we have fought against for so long. They wear the same chains and shackles.” The United States Animal Welfare has standards of care. When looking at the major circuses, they have all been cited for violating the standards. Animals feel just as much, if not more emotions and humans. Circuses should be eliminated completely because of the animals dangerous living conditions, the long term damage it does to the animals, and the mammals could pose a potential threat to the spectators.

Circus animal abuse is, unfortunately, quite the common occurrence. Many people go to the circus because all they see are good and fun times. There are quite a number of things that people don't know about the circus, and here are some of them. Stay tuned for part 2, which will be here soon.

The circus is one of a classic image, elephants lumbering trunk to tail. But is this docility born of positive reinforcement, or the fear of being beaten? When the yearly circus comes to town, it has but one thing in mind, entertainment. Both the stunts of animals and humans alike are mesmerizing and capture the audience's attention. Spectator’s become amazed at the miraculous accomplishments of the animals, and they are willing to pay mass amounts of money to see wild animals outside of their natural habits. But, circuses are not what they seem, the animals needs are not sustained, they are not taken into consideration. What many fail to realize is that the performing animals are not acting out of love, but instead they provide entertainment

Training is another concern. Physical punishment has long been the standard training method for animals in circuses. These methods are simply cruel. They include the use of electric prods, whips, and even some animals especially large cats, have their teeth removed. Bears balancing on balls, apes riding motorcycles, elephants standing on two legs are acts that are physically uncomfortable and behaviorally unnatural. Such “performances” do not teach audiences about how animals behave under normal circumstances. Instead, they are often portrayed as ferocious and stupid.

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

“In a circus somewhere right now, an endangered tiger is leaping through a ring of fire as circus patrons gasp, and then cheer. Elsewhere, a majestic elephant, the world’s largest land mammal, is carefully balancing on a tiny pedestal and performing for the crowd” (Anastasia). Many people have visited the circus and have enjoyed watching endangered animals parade around the stage, but many do not know what goes on behind the scenes. Animals are taken forcefully from their homes and families. Bullhooks, electric prods, ropes and fireplace pokers are used to train the animals in the circus (Godd). “This process is hidden completely from the public and is wholly unmonitored by any federal, state, or local entity” (Godd). Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus was a well known circus that used animals, and as most animal circuses, they treated their animals in an inhumane way (Godd). “And elephants aren’t the only animal that Ringling Brothers and