Why is Circus being banned all around the World?
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Why is this action being banned all over the world?
Circus has been a great source of entertainment for many centuries but this industry has declined to near extinction in last few decades. There are numerous reasons that lead to the closing of circuses around the globe. Probably the most important factor is the protest of organizations responsible for animal rights. The treatment that animals have to undergo are simply too cruel to continue with this form of enjoyment.
Poor animals are tortured not only physically but also emotionally and psychologically to make them do what is needed to make your show popular among the audience. Organizations like PETA which work for ensuring animal safety have raged serious protests against such circuses that were held in different parts of the world.
PETA declared circuses that use animals for their acts as the cruelest shows on the face of this planet. Animals are maltreated on daily basis under the banner of the training procedure. They arranged a campaign to boycott all such events during which they gave reasons for not attending the animal circus. It was their claim that you will never ever think of going there after knowing the details of an animal circus. Those reasons are:
Rigors of Transport, Training, and Performance
It is a common perception that only elephants bear the torture of circuses. Sadly, it is not true as a lot of other animals also suffers a lot. This list contains tigers, lions, camels and many other animals. The methods adopted for transportation, training, and performance of all these animals is completely against the law of nature and have disastrous effects on an animal. They are moved in smelly, cramped and poorly ventilated trucks and trailers. An elephant known as Heather died due to heat exhaustion while traveling.
Bred in Captivity
The animals used in a circus are bred in captivity. Due to this loneliness, they consider any human interaction a blessing. This benefits the owners as the animal responds to anything his trainer wants. All the negative here goes to the animal who spends entire life in stress and depression. All the meaning is sucked out from their lives and they are used merely as tools to earn money.
Merciless Whipping and Tortures
Big cats like lions and tigers do not surrender easily. They are exposed to intense cruelties like whipping. Due to that fear, they learn to obey commands of their trainers. Similarly, elephants are beaten by bullhooks regularly to make them perform dangerous tricks like standing on their head.
Treatment in Passive Time
When animals are nor training neither performing, they are kept in very tight places where they can hardly move. This eases the task of moving them when it is time to perform. Continuous treatment like that leads to anxiety and depression. Abnormal habits like head-bobbing are common among circus animals. This can exaggerate to a level where animals harm themselves. Many incidents are reported where animals caused damage to property and human life after all the depression. Most of the times, they were killed following the incident.
In light of all these reasons, PETA advises people to exploit other circuses and sources of entertainment that are safe for everyone.
One of the most popular result, of all that protest, came last year when “Ringling Bros.” Circus was shut down after giving regular shows for 146 years. Feld Entertainment was the owner of this circus for last 50 years. CEO Kenneth Feld announced the last show of this circus in following words:
“I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey will hold its final performances in May of this year”. He further added that “High operating costs and the decline of ticket sales made the circus an unsustainable business for the company”. He also mentioned that “After the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop”.
The company organized 30 shows across the United States before signing off their venture. In these shows, elephant acts were not included as the criticism from animal rights groups continued to mount. PETA thanked all the people who raised their voices with the following tweet:
“After 36 years of protest, #Ringling Bros. Circus will shut down in May. Thank you to all who spoke out!”.
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