It is not uncommon to see animals in the circus exhibiting neurotic and repetitive behaviors – such as rocking back and forth, moving their heads, or walking in a cage – caused by the monotony of confinement. Violent physical abuse remains a common method of teaching and controlling elephants and other animals in the circus.
Circus animals travel according to the regulations set in the Federal Circus Bill. In effect, this means they are kept either in stables or in cages when not performing, and they are transported to new venues using large and specialized trailers. Placid animals may be allowed freedom of mobility.
Animals in circuses are often beaten, electrocuted, kicked, or violently restrained in order to teach them to be obedient and mischievous. Animals are beaten, shocked, and whipped to force them to perform tricks that don’t make sense to them.
Circus cats are also trained in violent and dominant techniques to force them to perform unnatural and unworthy stunts. Elephants, tigers, bears and other circus animals suffer from constant travel, brutal training and social isolation.
Continuous locomotion means that circus animals are chained to freight cars, trailers or trucks for several days in extremely hot and cold climates, often without access to basic necessities such as food, water, and veterinary care. Traveling for most of the year means animals are kept in cages or trailers for several days in extremely hot and cold climates, often without access to basic necessities such as food, water, and veterinary care.
Circus travels incessantly, forcing animals to spend most of their lives in crates transported from one state to another without any protection from the elements. During the short off-season, animals are usually kept in road cages, stables and trucks. They live and travel in small cages in close isolation with other cats. They are forced to live in conditions that are often similar to those on industrial farms, and are constantly exposed to pain, terrible fear and suffering, so they will perform in a circus.
The Health of Circus Animals
A comprehensive scientific study published a few years ago showed that the circus caused great suffering to animals forced to perform. The animals used in the circus spend most of their time in suitcases, sheds or trucks, and they have nowhere to move freely. Animals used in circuses and other travel activities travel thousands of miles each year in railcars or trucks without water, without air conditioning in summer or without heating in winter. In extreme weather conditions, the animals used by the circus can travel thousands of miles a year.
These animals can also be affected by the weather, even if they are not traveling, as the local climate can be too cold or hot for them to feel comfortable. Long periods of attachment, chains, or cages without freedom of movement lead to abnormal behaviors that indicate that these animals are suffering from poor environment and poor health. It’s important to remember that this happens not only with the animals we’ve discussed, such as elephants, bears, and big cats, but many other animals that live in circuses as well. It takes thousands of years to tame animals, and wild animals that perform in circuses have the same needs as in nature.
Under these conditions, traveling circuses simply cannot provide animals with the space and the environment they need to maintain optimal physical and psychological health. The abnormal behavior seen in animals in the United States justifies a call to end the use of animals in traveling circuses. It is important for Congress to uphold a bill outlawing the use of exotic and non-pets in traveling circuses in the United States. The legislation does not affect the use of pets in traveling circuses.
The Legalities of Circus Animals
There are hundreds of circuses around the world that can still legally use wild animals. While pressure to close all animal circuses is growing, it is still not enough to stop them. Several local governments have banned circuses that use animals, including those in Los Angeles, New York, and Huntington Beach. Several cities in the United States have banned activities with animals, and some major cities are considering a ban.
A movement is underway to restrict or ban travel animals at the local and state levels. In the United States, the Federal Exotic Travel Protection Act prohibits the use of non-human primates, elephants, lions, tigers, and other species in circuses, but it has yet to be passed.
Legislators on both sides of the aisle have joined forces to pass legislation to ban the use of exotic and wild animals in traveling circuses and any other entertainment on wheels. In late March, representatives from Arizona Democrat Raul Grijalva, Pennsylvania Republican Ryan Costello, and 22 other legislators filed the Travel Exotic Animals Protection and Public Safety Act (TEAPSPA) before the House.
This will require that the 19 traveling circuses in the United States, where animals perform, use only human entertainers or loved ones. If signed into law, TEAPSPA will deal a severe blow to Isley and other companies supplying exotic animals to circuses. The policy is successfully applied and popular with the population. Criminating the use of wild animals in circuses would signal that this is a wrong practice and create a permanent solution, Creamer said.
Reports on Circus Animals in Transit
A recent investigation by the Society for the Protection of Animals found that a tiger trainer who worked on touring shows, including the Cardin Circus and the Shrine Circus, appears to have mistreated his tigers, potentially in violation of the Animal Welfare Act. Freedom for the investigator. The animals that worked for the Great British Circus in 2009 filmed an elephant trainer beating an elephant during the show. An undercover investigation conducted by Freedom for Animals in 2009 found elephants at the Great Britain Circus were chained for up to 11 hours a day.
Elephants are one of the most ferocious animals in the circus because of their huge size and the training of a huge animal requires tremendous strength. These outstanding animals do not receive the proper care, nutrition and environmental abundance needed for their health. These are unnatural wild animals brought from the circus to the human community, where they may pose a potential danger to humans.
Given the added and chronic stress caused by inappropriate training methods and captive conditions, there is a high risk that these animals might try to attack or flee. Circus travel can have detrimental effects on animal welfare as captive animals cannot communicate, get enough exercise, or exhibit natural behavior. ADI argues that, given the circumstances of constant travel, disabilities, and the pressure to make animals do what they don’t want to do, suffering and sometimes abuse are inevitable in traveling circuses in the United States.
Conclusion
This new report is from Animal Defenders International, USA. Inc., (ADI) discusses the effects of captivity and transportation on animals with traveling circuses and makes recommendations for legislation. Animal cruelty in circuses has sparked protests from humanitarian societies and animal rights groups that have focused on abuses in the training and handling of animals, the ongoing restriction of animal freedom, and the dangers that animal circuses pose to the public. In fact, many of the circuses that usually take place in New York have been repeatedly cited as violations of the Animal Welfare Act, and animal cruelty has been documented in covert video investigations.
