Travelling circuses and animal welfare

[Safe-Keeper]

This is partly to keep the zoo thread from derailing, and partly because I wanted to create such a thread for some time.

As a circus artist in training (since last fall), I've lately taken an interest in animals as performers in circuses. For the longest time I didn't really care about the subject, because I thought it impossibly could be that bad, but mostly because we're a contemporary circus^WP school, and we don't use animals in our performances pretty much as a rule, so I didn't feel the subject had anything to do with us in the first place.

Now, I know there are horror stories about animal treatment in circuses, like in every other field concerning animals, from agility training for dogs and horse racing to the meat industry. But I've also heard that things are improving, and that many circuses are making the move to more humane training methods. There's also the argument that animals can be made to do things that do not run contrary to their nature (the example I was given was elephants being trained to climb ladders, which is highly unnatural to them), and that they may even enjoy being trained to do.

There's just one hurdle I cannot seem to get over, though: that traditional circuses typically do not stay on one place. They go on tourneys from city to city, in some cases staying in one place only one day. This necessarily means the animals have to spend a lot of their time on the road. I don't see how it's possible to give an animal, particularly a large and/or exotic animal such as a polar bear or elephant, a worthy life when it has to spend a significant portion of its time in a cage. I've worked at an animal shelter where the dogs and cats had to be kept in cages for most of the day. It didn't take them long to develop stress symptoms, and unless adopted, they eventually grew so ill, both physically and mentally, they had to be put to sleep. I can't imagine circus animals can fare much better. Sure, as someone said in the zoo thread, I'm not an elephant and I've never worked with them, so I know nothing about their needs. For all I know an elephant's highest ambition might be to be taken from the savannah and put to work as a circus artist in some distant country.

All in all, though, I'm growing increasingly uncomfortable about the whole animals in circus thing. There was a trad circus coming to my school's town the day after I left for Easter break, and while I considered staying for an extra day to watch the show like a couple of my classmates did, now I'm sort of glad I didn't. One of my classmates, who loves the species enough to have an elephant tattooed on the back of her shoulder earlier this school year, went to see one of their shows and said the elephants had clearly been sedated before the show. As amazing as I think it is to see elephants "live", watching drugged animals performing in a state of delirium isn't really my idea of a fun day at the circus.

Either way, I prefer contemporary performances (such as Canada's Cirque du Soleil and Sweden's Cirkus Cirkör) over trad circus in the first place. I prefer the merging of theater and circus into a fluent performance with a theme or story over the trad circus model of having a ringmaster announce isolated acts that have nothing to do with one another. The fact that we don't use animals is just a "bonus" of sorts to me, and really a bit ironic given the fact that contemporary circuses typically do not go on torneys, and thus have a far better chance to give at least non-exotic animals such as horses and dogs good homes where they can rest between shows.

ETA: while the thread title says "travelling circuses", you may feel free to discuss any kind of circus you like, travelling or not.

 

[Crocoshark]

My main problem with circuses is the keeping of wild animals in confinement. At least zoos take a good swing at providing the room an animal needs. If circuses used domesticated animals like horses which ran around on a ranch between shows I might have been to a circus once in my life by now. My other problem with circuses is the abuse of animals in the industry.

It's honestly no surprise to me to hear stories of circus elephants going bonkers and wreaking bloody rampage. For some reason when you hear about zoo animals escaping you don't hear horror stories (unless the animal in question was a large predator)

Thinking about it, aquariums where animals do tricks and shows are like a halfway point between zoos and circuses. I'm not comfortable with cetaceans being kept in aquariums. As for sharks, well it depends on the species and I don't know anyway. I know Great Whites do poorly in captivity and whale sharks need a good bit of room if it's gonna work at all, but other than that I don't know how, if at all, they are effected by confinement.

 

[Varanid]

I am less likely to defend the keepers in circuses as I would zoo or other educational keepers. The motivations are entirely different.

I do think that Elephants (etc.) need an appropriate amount of space to live a full life. My point in the other thread isn't as applicable here, as their caretakers (at least in my perception- which may be flawed) do not come to the table with the same goals and training.

I will say that I don't see the situation as impossible. I imagine (if one were so inclined) that the keepers could develop a manner that treats the animals well and still allows the circus to function.

I doubt it would be easy, and I am not holding my breath, but as with all of the arguments I have been making- the use of animals doesn't necessarily mean they must be treated badly. Even if that is what is happening by and large.

And one small point...I can see Elephants "enjoying" training in the abstract. Many dogs undoubtedly love training. I don't know if they do or not and would defer to an Elephant enthusiast for a more educated opinion.

 

[Emet]

I posted this in the zoo thread:

The issue I have with the use of animals in circuses comes down to using domesticated animals vs. tamed/trained animals (with perhaps an exception or two) (Of course I don't want to see any animal abused)

Lions, tigers, elephants, etc. are not domesticated--they always retain the potential to act out in violent and unpredictable ways. And when they do, they are often killed.

I recognize that domesticated animals can also go bonkers--but it is much less likely.

 

[sgtbaker]

I don't care if it was a steaming argument from outrage. After I saw a video on training elephants, I will never go to another animal circus.

 

[commandlinegamer]

Making the news recently in the UK has been Anne, a retired circus elephant which has recently been transferred to a wildlife park after footage of a keeper abusing her was leaked. The owner had denied ill treatment, blaming the incident on a rogue employee who has since left the circus.

http://www.longleat.co.uk/news/anne_the_elephant_2

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/31/abused-bobby-roberts-circus-elephant