If the circus decides to include big cats or other large animals in its performance, it is limited to floats or chains in the truck. But in a circus, tigers are often forced to perform during the day and cannot fall asleep if they want to.
Since 1990, animals have died in circuses at a rate of about four per year. Meanwhile, the number of animals living in American circuses is roughly 300. So about 1.3% of animals kept in circuses die per year. Most deaths are of old age, but some animals must be euthanized for attacking humans.
Unfortunately, they are forced to live in close contact with other circus animals, which leads to fights and injuries. These animals are kept in tiny cages where they must eat, defecate, and sleep while traveling. This causes circus animals to walk back and forth for hours or remain sedentary. The abuse and conditions can trigger strange behavior in circus animals, resulting in death and injury.
Circuses without Animals
Banning the use of animals in circus performances need not destroy the industry, however, as many circuses thrive without the use of animals. The use of animals in circuses for entertainment, entertainment or performance is detrimental to the safety of the public, including children and educators. The MSPCA opposes the use of wild animals in circuses and traveling performances because of animal cruelty, near-constant confinement and animal chains during shows, and public health and safety risks.
Several organizations have conducted surveys about animal welfare in circuses, and many circuses have stopped using wildlife. Every major wildlife circus in the United States has been named for violating the minimum standards of care set in the United States. In Germany, an elephant accident during a circus show in 2008 prompted calls for a ban on animal performances in circuses. Several local governments have banned circuses that use animals, including those in Los Angeles, New York, and Huntington Beach.
The US and the Animal Welfare Act
Animal welfare in circuses in the United States is regulated by the Animal Welfare Act, which offers only minimum protection and does not prohibit the use of electric hooks or electrodes.
In the United States, the Federal Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act prohibits the use of non-human primates, elephants, lions, tigers, and other animals in circuses, but it has yet to be passed. Animals Asia does not support the use of any animals, including dogs, in circuses due to widespread cruel training methods and poor living conditions. Living conditions in circuses constantly do not satisfy the most basic needs of animals.
The circus keeps traveling, forcing animals to spend most of their time in crates transported from one state to another without any natural protection. The animals in the circus travel in a closed, unair-conditioned carriage for 11 months of the year, often eating, sleeping and defecation in the same cage.
Animals in the circus travel in poorly ventilated and cramped trailers for up to 50 weeks each year, sometimes in extreme weather conditions. In all extreme weather conditions, for up to 50 weeks a year, circus animals are transported across the country in poorly ventilated trailers and vans.
The Living Conditions of Animals in Circuses
Animals used in circuses can travel thousands of miles a year in extreme weather conditions. Circus animals are often transported long distances, and in Indonesia circuses, dolphins are also transported by trucks and airplanes, which is clearly not suitable for this species.
Despite the fact that the circuses of Cyprus, Greece, Bolivia and Malta have banned the use of all animals (both wild and domestic), there are countries that still use these poor creatures in their shows.
However, British traveling circuses have recently included animals as diverse as lions, tigers, dogs, alligators, snakes, camels, llamas, parrots, ducks, budgies, horses and elephants. Animals used in circus performances vary from company to company, but can include big cats (mainly lions, tigers, and leopards), horses, donkeys, elephants, zebras, bears, monkeys, and sea lions among pets such like cats and dogs.
The circus is not only one of the few occasions where many people can see these animals in real life, but these animals are also taught to perform amazing skills. In addition, visiting the circus not only provides the opportunity to see some of these creatures in real life, but also teaches wild animals to perform the craziest tricks. However, for those who understand the horror that these animals must endure in order to learn tricks and perform in the circus, these performances are cruel expressions of animals—and creative music and lighting.
Reasons for the Disdain of Circus Animals
Although many circus companies claim that their trainers care deeply for the animals they raise and maintain the highest standards of welfare; The USDA’s long track record of violations of the Animal Protection Act suggests otherwise.
The fact remains: if a wild animal works in a circus, then it lives a life completely opposite to what nature intended. Natural patterns of elephant behavior that have evolved over thousands of years are denied by this limited, chained and dominant life. Disrupting and preventing the natural behavior of these intelligent and social creatures is not only inhuman and cruel, but also stressful for the individual animal.
Pets have experienced the same problematic training methods and behaved unnaturally. However, the circus ignored this fact and forced them to interact and perform with other animals. The animals used in the circus live a miserable life of power, imprisonment and cruel training. It is standard practice to beat them, electroshock them, whipped them, and make them perform absurd tricks that they cannot understand.
Some people will argue that elephants should like to perform, because you can’t let such a big animal perform skills, but with the weapons they can use and years of physical abuse, elephant trainers can usually beat them. Due to the size of the elephant and the strength required to train this huge animal, the elephant is one of the most abused circus animals.
They were taken away by their families when they were young; they endured abusive teaching methods, including restraints, hooks, chains, batons, whips, and electric shock devices; and endangered public health and safety.
Conclusion
Numerous accidents occur every year around the world when animals escape from circuses, rebel against trainers and workers and harm people. Since 1990, these incidents have killed 43 people, injured over 140 and killed 69 large cats. Circus animals attack us out of fear as they flee: 23 people died from captive big cats between 1990 and 2021. Since 1990, 126 large cats in captivity and 23 humans have died in the United States due to captivity.
There are numerous reports of physical abuse being used as a training method for circus animals, not to mention the dire conditions in which the animals are kept. The circus, which uses animals, is fighting declining attendance and public disappointment as people learn more about wild animals and their complex physical and emotional needs.
