Circus is a cruel excuse for 'entertainment'

Once again we have another cruel circus coming to town.

This particular circus has a kangaroo that it makes box a man who is inside a giant inflated suit. It also has elephants that are forced to "perform" with humans riding on top of them.

Animals used in circuses are captives who are forced -- under threat of punishment -- to perform confusing, uncomfortable, repetitious, and often painful acts. Physical punishment has always been the standard training method for animals in circuses. Animals are beaten, shocked and whipped to make them perform. The whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other tools used during circus acts are reminders that the animals are being forced to perform. These "performances" teach audiences nothing about how animals behave under normal circumstances.

Because circuses are constantly traveling, animals have limited access to the basic necessities: food, water, veterinary care. The animals, most of whom are quite large and naturally active, are forced to spend most of their lives in the cramped, barren cages used to transport them, where they have only enough room to stand and turn around. Most animals are allowed out of their cages only during the short periods when they must perform. Elephants are kept in leg shackles that only allow them to lift one foot at a time. The temperature extremes they are subjected to cause them misery and sometimes death.

During the off-season, animals used in circuses may be housed in traveling crates or barn stalls; some are even kept in trucks. Such unrelieved physical confinement has harmful physical and psychological effects on animals. These effects are often indicated by unnatural behaviors such as repeated head-bobbing, swaying, and pacing. Have you ever seen a circus animal doing this? I have.

Parents: When you take your children to the circus, you are teaching them cruelty. Please just say no to animal cruelty and to this circus. If you wouldn't whip your dog, please don't fund this cruel excuse for "entertainment."

Mara Parker resides in Trinidad.
