Circus!

[allotmentlady]

The circus is coming to town but I am avoiding it becuase they use animals in their show. i just cannot agree with animals being made to do things, they would not normally do.

what do others think about circuses using animals?

[shirlthegirl43]

It depends on which animals and what they are doing. I knew a family who ran a circus years ago and their dogs and horses were really well cared for and trained with understanding and reward - not cruelty.

I love watching water shows with dolphins and sealions as their training is usually a form of exercise for their bodies and brains.

[Nicos]

Depends on the attention and freedom they get between shows.
I'd prefer to see one without animals though

Our local circus had camels and lamas and water buffalo and goats and African deer with long horns...I personally wouldn't have gone to see them ( prefer a David Attenborough DVD!!)

The Chinese circus is really good though!

[WrexTheDragon]

I would have thought that a circus treats it's animals far better than most pet owners.

[SarzWix]

Yep, that's a tough one - lots of animals like to show-off, and if they're well treated and trained with rewards rather than cruelty I think it's ok - no-one objects to police dogs doing displays, or horses doing dressage and that's the same thing. But, how do you find out which circus' are good and which bad?!

[shirlthegirl43]

... how do you find out which circus' are good and which bad?!

Take a wander round where they are before booking to see a show. Even if you can't get near the animals you will hear whips or shouting if they are used as training methods. If you can see the animals and they look clean healthy and happy then it is a safe bet they are trained and worked fairly.

[janeyo]

I don't like to see exotic animals there.

[NOG]

Its not the animals but the Midgets I feel sorry for.

[minskey]

Right, where do I start...........

I hate performing animals, but there are good and bad trainers as there are good and bad pet owners.

I know who the bad ones are & they should be locked up, personal experience you see. I am from 'Circus', my Mum started the 1st circus in the UK which did not use animals, we never used animals.

Trouble is the evil trainers, those who take pleasure in dominating & beating an animal into submission are very sly, like a peadophile you would not tell by speaking or talking to them, look at the animal they are handleing & being all lovy dovey with, its movements & mannerisms will tell all. RSPCA are useless, they never notice.

One day I'll write it all down & drop the lot in it, shame for the good trainers but I'ts the animals I care for. I know if they found out that I told all I'd wake up in a hospital bed with my home burned down.

[Hilary B]

There are no hard-and-fast rules about whether animal acts are good or bad. The thing that bothers me is that when 'on the move' most 'wild' species have very little space. Elephants are just about always tethered (a practical necessity, but it always bothers me). Big cats mostly are happy to laze about between acts, and most in the reputable circuses are several generations 'circus bred', so maybe they don't count as 'wild' any more?
Horses, dogs and farm-type beasts (I've seen goats) are a totally different matter anyway. Control is along milder lines, simply because there are lesser demands about controlling them.

[petal]

Tricky one, I know horses and dogs love performing- dogs in particular like a 'job' Big cats and elephants belong in the wild. Domesticated species are ok then but not wild species - that seems wrong to me.

[Alison]

Remember seeing a circus in France when I was about 8, hated that they made the animals do things and ended up crying and asking to go home. Would never go to one again.

On a similar note, was iffy about zoos for many years after going to London Zoo in about 1980, and was very upset about all the concrete and sad looking animals. Finally got over it and took my God son to Chester zoo last year, was a much better experience.

[Hilary B]

Tricky one, I know horses and dogs love performing- dogs in particular like a 'job' Big cats and elephants belong in the wild. Domesticated species are ok then but not wild species - that seems wrong to me.

Elephants will always be a tricky one. There are still working elephants in parts of India I believe, but I think they are all captured. If the working ones were bred to the work, it would be less worrying.
The big cats in circuses these days are nearly all 'circus bred' for generations, so are they really 'wild' any more? I don't think they have captured any for quite a long time (at least not in any circus that you will see in Britain)...

[bluemoon]

I was taken to the circus when I was about three, which would have been around 1962, and even then it distressed me. I haven't been since and I've never taken my children, nor would I ever take my grandchildren. Though I agree that horses and dogs are probably in a different category. Having said that I'd never train a dog of my own to do anything demeaning, but our current girl picks up all sorts of tricks without being taught, so I suppose some must enjoy it and just have that performing-for-attention type of personality.