What Are Circuses Inhumane

Imagine you are stolen from your family at a young age, forced. Forced to perform routines, and you can not understand why, when you mess up or refuse to perform, you are punished with lacerations or starvation. No one responsible for you cares about your health and will do whatever they can to put as little effort and resources into you. This is the life for many animals forced to participate in circuses. Circus animals, such as elephants, big cats, camels, or bears, live in conditions no human would want to experience. Traveling in small cages, being deprived of experiencing a “natural” life, being forced to perform routines, these are all things circus animals have to go through. A circus is no place for an animal, especially when forced

Today, protestors are fighting for animal’s rights and against the use of animals in circuses’. Protesters are objecting to animal circus performers, purely because of the belief that these animals are being forced to do impossible stunts, are in confined areas, and are abused with painful tools. One of the biggest frustrations of the protesters is the fact that circus animals are held in constant confinement. Protest organization The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) explains how circus animals in

The circus is a wonderful and breathtaking experience and most people dream about going to a circus. The circus is full of exciting, fun activities, bright lights and the smell of crackerjack. Although the circus may seem like a fantastic idea, the circus during the Great Depression behind the closed curtains are not. During the Great Depression there was not much regulation which led to the mistreatment of the circus workers and the animals in the menagerie. Since it is during this time period, food and money were incredibly scarce. Workers were often times left unpaid and hungry, and sometimes even red lighted, which is the act of throwing someone off of a moving train which was done in order to save money in the circus. This is seen in the novel, Water for Elephants, and Sara Gruen highlights the imperfections of the circus. There also was not enough caretakers for the exotic animals in the menagerie and the animals were often times mistreated. Because of the Great Depression nothing was regulated or enforced so the money hungry circus owner operated business as he so desired. In Water for Elephants highlights the theme throughout the entire novel how deceiving the really is, but how the audience continues to perceive

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

Although the circus isn't always in town, speciesism in entertainment is present everywhere. In each and every state in the nation, and all over the world, there are aquariums, zoos and racetracks, where animals are the cash crop. People bring their kids to the zoo to see the exotic animals brought to the country for one sole purpose, money. You could probably remember as a child going to the zoo and seeing all these animals, and thinking such great

Although circus animals perform they still spend most of their time crammed into small unsanitary box cars or changed up. .According to the article “Circus Animals are Abused” it says that elephants are chained up for over 90% of the time when they aren’t performing. Therefore, if these animals are chained up most of the time they don’t get the chance to exercise the full range of their natural behaviors.According to Peta it says that the performing animals are put into cramped, unsanitary, and poorly ventilated boxcars for travel and they are kept in the for up to 100 hours. Sometimes in the boxcars the temperature exceeds 100 degrees and sometimes the animals die.Therefore, if these boxcars are cramped and unsanitary then these animals shouldn't be kept in them.Since these animals are either chained up for long periods of time or they’re kept in cramped boxcars they shouldn’t be able to perform in the circus.

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.

Your views on circuses are different than the views of the animals. They see torture, abuse, separation from family etc. If we continue the path we are taking with the animal abuse the endangered species could get worse and worse and later maybe be gone. Circus owners should ban animal performances in circuses.

While the circus is an amusing way to spend the afternoon with family, it's often been proven that circus owners do not treat their animals well. This can make them dangerous to the employees of the circus as well as the patrons.

The Big Apple Circus, established in 1977, has not gotten rid of animals, but it is only partnering with animals that have a “traditional working relationship with man”. The Big Apple Circus “continues to explore and address the needs of performing animals and insist upon sensitivity to quality of life, both in and out the ring for all performers.” In July 2000, the Big Apple Circus stopped touring with

Travelling shows can be on the road for as long as 11 months at a time. It is ludicrous to think they make stop overs at wildlife refuges or rent out park space so their animals can get out and stretch their legs. It is equally absurd to think that letting these animals out into enclosures or chaining them outside is adequate exercise and stimulus to keep them healthy. The majority of the time lions, tigers, monkeys and bears are kept in transport cages. Transport cages are big enough to house the animals and small enough to fit on a rail car or in the back of a semi-truck. “July 13, 2004-According to an affidavit by former Ringling lion handler Frank Hagan, a 2-year-old lion named Clyde died while traveling through the intense heat of the Mojave Desert in a poorly ventilated boxcar without being checked or given water. The lion is believed to have died from heatstroke and dehydration.” [ (PETA, 2011) ] Elephants are simply chained to the floor of their transport vehicle.

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..

“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

Animal circuses should be banned and illegal throughout the world. Animals in the circus do not receive proper care and treatment. They are beaten and forced to learn tricks and stunts against their will. Also, animals held in captivity do not learn specialized skills they instinctively pick up in the wild. Once a circus animal relies on humans for food and help, they will never be able to survive in the wild due to their dependency on humans. Many animals in the circus were pulled away from their mothers at a young age. These animals deserve to be with their families in their natural habitats not in cages, forced to perform tricks for human enjoyment. The use of animals in circuses is not morally correct and should be stopped.