15 REASONS TO BOYCOTT THE CIRCUS!!
1 Government inspection reports reveal ongoing mistreatment of
animals in circuses. Because of continued abuse of circus elephants, there
is a pending lawsuit against Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
2 Many people claim that circuses are conservation programs for
endangered species (such as the Asian elephant). However no circus animal
has ever been released to the wild and the conservation claim is merely a
way to justify the exploitation of animals for profit.
3 Sweden, Austria, Costa Rica, India, Finland and Singapore have all
banned or restricted the use of animals in entertainment. However, the US
lags behind.
4 Elephants are trained to perform unnatural acts by the use of a
"bullhook", which is a 2-3 foot long club or stick with a sharp metal hook
attached to the top. It is repeatedly used to beat, hit and poke the
animals, often leaving permanent scars. There are numerous undercover
videos and testimony from past circus employees corroborating this
information.
5 Heavy, metal, and short chains are used to confine circus
elephants. The elephants are chained by one front leg and one back leg,
preventing them from laying down. The chaining of elephants also prevents
them from interacting with other elephants, which is a natural behavior for
elephants as they are very social creatures.
6 Ringling Brothers typically transport the elephants from city to
city by train, chained by one front foot and one back foot and unable to lay
down. They are also kept in cramped conditions for over eight hours without
stopping for water. They are trained for 11 months and the one month they
are not being trained, they are still confined in horrid conditions.
7 Elephant transportation vehicles lack climate control and are
forced to stand for hours in their own waste.
8 In the wild, elephants live in large, sociable herds and walk up
to 25 miles every day. In addition to the physical abuse of circus
elephants, they are also deprived of their freedom to roam and engage in
their instinctual behavior which includes socializing with other elephants.
9 Although minimum legal protections are provided in the Animal
Welfare Act, the law does not provide adequate protection for circus
animals. Often a veterinarian isn't even on site and local vets are not
knowledgeable about the unique medical needs of exotic animals. Circuses
are frequently cited by the USDA, the agency responsible for enforcing the
Animal Welfare Act, for failure to keep veterinary records, for providing
moldy or rancid food and no water, for storing chemicals near the animals'
food supply, and for stocking expired medications.
10 Every major circus that uses animals has been cited for violating the
Animal Welfare Act. These circuses are almost always given a slap on the
wrist and forced to pay a minimal fine.
11 Enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act is very difficult because the
USDA, the agency responsible for enforcement, only has 100 inspectors to
monitor conditions at approximately 12,000 facilities.
12 Although poaching is a problem in Africa, there are wildlife
conservation parks that are constantly patrolled to ensure the safety of
animals. Elephant poaching has decreased since the highly enforced ban on
the possession and sale of ivory. In recent years, the elephant population
has significantly increased due to conservation efforts.
13 Although circuses claim that they are a form of educating the public
about elephants, there is no education in watching the exploitation of
elephants that are cruelly trained to perform unnatural acts. Circuses
teach children that it is acceptable to exploit animals. No research has
been shown that attending circuses increases public concern about the status
of an endangered species.
14 Elephants in the circus, regardless of how much they are "trained",
are still wild animals capable of and have a history of lashing out,
escaping, and thus posing a risk to public safety.
15 Elephants in the circus often carry diseases such as tuberculosis
(aka "TB") and can infect humans with this disease. Note that there is no
cure for this disease in either elephants or humans.