Time to ban circus

[brummie]

Mindless idiots like this just make my blood boil and for it to have happened in the UK makes it even harder to take.

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/28/sad-tale-of-circus-elephant-getting-hit-kicked-video/?a_dgi=aolshare_twitter

It does make me think though about the whole concept of training animals to do degrading 'tricks' in order to entertain people-why? What is so enthralling about watching an elephant balance on a tiny podium or stand on 2 legs?
Cases of cruelty occur in the training of animals to perform ridiculous and unnatural tricks, surely it is now time for a total ban on live animal entertainment,why not just enjoy animals for the beautiful creatures they are?
My understanding of the situation in the UK is that circuses with animals are banned from certain councils land but can still operate on private land.I would like to see this extended to a total ban but until then lets stop attending them>

[Jonnieola]

I saw this on the news. About time the cruelty was brought to an end.

[babybird67]

the only circus acts that should be allowed should be human beings doing feats they enjoy training to do, such as juggling and acrobatics. There is nothing entertaining in watching animals compelled to do unnatural things. Any animal acts should be banned.

[DVV]

Aaaaargh.....mouais......hi han...! meuh meuh...!! ouchhhhh...

[Errata]

I think it will be a sad day when circuses no longer have animals. I certainly agree that if they cannot function without hurting the animals then they need to let the animals go, but it will mean the end of a lot of good things as well. There's an elephant sanctuary not far from here where circus elephants retire, and they really miss people. There are still a lot of places in the states and all over the world where the only chance people have to see these amazing animals is at the circus. Zoos are losing money and many are closing. Some of these animals are dying out in the wild. With no zoos, no captive breeding programs, no way for people to see and fall in love with these creatures, they will die out. It's always been a delicate line to walk, and I really wish they walked it better.

[babybird67]

I'm sorry but animals weren't created to be our playthings and entertainment. Why should an elephant spend its life caged in a circus, whether it is treated cruelly or kindly, it is still a wild animal that should be in its natural habitat not under a canvas for we egocentric humans to go and gawp at.

It is the height of our own self importance to say that animals enjoy our company and it would be sad for them to be released from captivity. I went once when i was young to London zoo and the sight of the elephants pacing in their little tiny unnatural world was heartbreaking to me...you could see the psychological damage right in front of you, and it was cruel.

They were not meant to be restricted and caged and kept for human pleasure.

(climbs down off soapbox)

[Robert]

The sad thing is, there are just too many human beings on the planet. And though they doubtless think of themselves as unique and precious, most of them sit slumped in front of Coronation St or the African/Asian/European/American etc equivalent.

[Errata]

It is the height of our own self importance to say that animals enjoy our company and it would be sad for them to be released from captivity. I went once when i was young to London zoo and the sight of the elephants pacing in their little tiny unnatural world was heartbreaking to me...you could see the psychological damage right in front of you, and it was cruel.

They were not meant to be restricted and caged and kept for human pleasure.

(climbs down off soapbox)

Well I certainly don't think that animals are created for our amusement, or caged. And if it had never started surely the world would be better. But now, in this day and age, it's not so simple.

Circuses and zoos are the only reason some animals still exist today. Barbary lions were favorites in circuses, and have remained in captivity long after they died out in the wild. They are the reason there is still a chance for the Barbary lion to be reintroduced to the wild today.

Elephants are herd animals. They are very social. When they are taken from other elephants and put into human care, they bond with people the way they would bond with a herd. I don't think they would choose humans over elephants, but it has nothing to do with arrogance to say that circus elephants miss people when they are retired. The sanctuary here always keeps their elephants supplied with a few partner people for play and socializing.

I had the rare pleasure of working with an Indian elephant named Rosie for 8 years. Her mother died before she was born, and the people who found her mother realized that the baby was still alive and cut her out. She was premature, and tiny, and she was hand raised by the people who found her. They tried to release her into the wild, but she was too small to fight for a position in a herd. A man in Florida brought her over and introduced her to his small herd of man raised elephants. All of the elephants worked two months a year, because keeping elephants is insanely expensive. She gave kids rides at two festivals I worked at, and I worked next door to her for 8 years. She loved kids. She really did. When they would come to her ring her ears would flag and she would sort of thrum, and she snuffled every child's head who rode on her back. Her last year working she had a child on her back when she stepped on a hornets nest. She started to rear up, but stopped, and slowly backed up to the mounting platform so the little girl could get off. Rosie was stung very badly, but she stood there snuffling the little girl until she stopped crying before rolling in the dirt to stop the stinging. She retired a hero, and moved to an Elephant Sanctuary like the one here. And every Sunday the staff brings their kids to play in the grass with her, and she still gives rides, kneeling down so the kids can get on. And she still gets excited to see them.

Would Rosie have been better off if her mother had lived, and she lived with a wild herd her whole life? Of course. But her mother was killed, and Rosie would have died if men hadn't saved her. She was too small to be in a herd of wild elephants, but she was plenty big enough to be in a herd of hand reared elephants. Rosie walked around in little circles two months of the year, which I can't imagine she enjoyed, but she really loved those kids. Rosie has had a good life. She had a mate, and two daughters, both of whom were given back to India to be released in the wild. I think that the best thing that could have happened to her did. And I think it is sad that men have abused their privileges so much that there can no longer be a place for animals like Rosie. And I wonder what will happen to them now.

[The Good Michael]

While we're at it, Cirque Du Soleil is getting on my nerves too.

Mike

[Sister Hyde]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH DON'T SHOW ME THIS!!!! please, i don't make me pick up my hood, and crowbar again, last time it got me in big trouble... stupid DBF can't even organise something proper. circus people are just as creepy as they look! *creeps*

[DVV]

Bientôt, faudra se cacher pour bouffer un steak.

[Sister Hyde]

Bientôt, faudra se cacher pour bouffer un steak.

ah nan surtout pas!!!! je continuerais à gifler les végétariens avec un steak cru en leur gueulant dessus "t'as vu??? mon steak aussi avant il était végétarien", et je continurais a porter des para en cuir, mais là, c'est juste du sadisme.

[DVV]

T'as raison...mais tu verras, on y viendra....

[Sister Hyde]

T'as raison...mais tu verras, on y viendra....

ça me ferais mal!!!! mais ça m'étonnerais pas, y'a plein de gens qui confondent "chaine alimentaire" et cruauté envers les animaux. moi je suis jamais cruelle envers les animaux loin de là même, par contre je bouffe tout ce qui passe, et j'ai pas l'intention de changer.

[DVV]

Moi non plus ! - et surtout pas ma sacro-sainte brochette annuelle de rouge-gorge au cabanon.