Comments on: The Circus without Elephants

By: robin

robin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 03:11:16 +0000

I go back and forth on the issues of circuses and zoos. I went to the circus recently fully expecting to walk out saying “the circus does not need elephants and tigers.” But… there is magic there for children. They were awed. How can kids form an emotional bond with these animals and want to help them, preserve their habitat, if they never experience them? (Not everyone is capable of taking an eco-pilgrimage, let’s get that out of the way now.) Perhaps it would be better to focus on making the animals’ experience as humane as possible.

By: Jessy

Jessy — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:18:22 +0000

There are definitly other forms of animal abuse out there other than the circus, but the circus is definitly one of the worst! Just because elephants are not a cute kitten or a sad dog, doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve good treatment as well. I have recently written my thesis on animals in the circus industry (including elephants) and have learned some very disturbing facts about what actually happens behind the scenes, along with seeing some video footage. Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it does not happen. I am not a crazy animal rights activist who protests and throws red paint on people, but I do care about their well being. I will not go to another circus where animals are being used unless they change this.

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:16:20 +0000

Thank you so much for this article. I have never been to a circus and will never if they continue to use animals like elephants. I have seen some of the training videos and it is shocking what they do to these beautiful creatures. When my nieces and nephew have asked about going to a circus I have told them I will not take them and I explain to them why. If we tell our kids (and parents) the truth about circus animals then the demand for this type of “entertainment” will decrease and perhaps companies like Ringling Bros. will rethink their use of animals. I would actually be happy if circuses did not exist at all.

By: Brenna

Brenna — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:02:24 +0000

Oh, I hope they succeed in eliminating elephants from the circus. I used to love the circus as a kid, before I understood the abuse those animals faced day in and day out. I will never take my kids to the circus as long as elephants are a part of it.

By: James S. Cole

James S. Cole — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:24:04 +0000

Circus animals, including elephants for the most part revieve very good care. I’m the guy who will stop my car on the side of road to lift a turtle out of harms way, then continue on to the circus to enjoy the performing elephants, ignoring the “animal rights” protesters outside. I then go home and take car of my cat that I rescued from the local animal shelter.

If these animal rights do-gooders want to really see some animal abuse, tell them to look in their own local communities. Dogs left out all night chained in sub freezing weather, stray cats living in dumpsters, horses out in the hot sun with no shade or fresh drinking water, abandoned pets injured or killed on the roads…I don’t see these conditions at the circus!

For animals, the circus enviorment provides far better than avarage living conditions and care as compared to what many thousands of other animals have to live with.

There are more urgent animal welfare issues that could be dealt with in the Courts than circus elephants!

By: Amy Jussel

Amy Jussel — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:28:06 +0000

oops…typo above, ‘are’ sorry!

By: Amy Jussel

Amy Jussel — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 07:17:14 +0000

Human tricks at Cirque de Soleil is about as close as I’ll get to a circus performance until policy for animals changes.

Thanks for writing this up, as I’ve been called a party pooper for ages among parents who ‘think it’s sad’ that I’d boycott a ‘circus experience’…Ironically, my teen was even more vehement than I am as an animal lover, even as a wee one! Go figure!