The Circus: No Fun For Animals
Mat Thomas - The Animal World 

Audiences that once thrilled to the spectacle of wild animals being tamed under the crack of a whip are today realizing that circuses force these intelligent and sensitive beings to suffer for our amusement. Undercover investigations by animal rights activists have brought the hidden reality of circus animal abuse into the public eye, destroying the façade of happy performing animals that that the circus industry reassuringly insists on despite overwhelming and contrary evidence.

How do circuses get wild animals to “dance” on command, leap through hoops of fire and ride motorcycles around the ring? Numerous exposés and the testimony of many former circus employees confirm that trainers routinely use violence, brutality and intimidation to force animals to perform these demeaning tricks. The whips, chains, sharp hooks, electric prods, muzzles and choke collars employed in behind-the-scenes training sessions (and sometimes openly during performances) are the standard tools trainers use to inflict pain and force obedience from frightened animals. On the road in cramped trailers for 48 to 50 weeks a year, animals in circuses are deprived of the ability to engage in even their most basic natural behaviors, causing severe physical and psychological stress, and sometimes even death. 

Fortunately, growing concern for animal welfare has spawned some encouraging trends. Bans on exotic animal acts have already been enacted in six countries and 300 municipalities throughout the world. Pending legislation may make Massachusetts the first U.S. state to outlaw animal circuses. In addition, the popularity of circuses that don’t use animals is steadily rising, led by international sensation Cirque du Soleil. Instead of animal acts, these new circuses highlight the astounding feats of human acrobats, aerialists and jugglers. This imaginative new breed of circus has reinvented the art form for the 21st century, and by comparison, makes the bombastic Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus look like an outdated artifact from a more barbaric age. 

Animals in circuses suffer a lifetime of domination and abuse to provide audiences with a few fleeting moments of “entertainment.” You can help end this injustice by enjoying only circuses that don’t use animals, and by encouraging your family and friends to do the same.