THE CIRCUS: FAMILY FUN FOR “EVERYONE” …. EXCEPT THE ANIMALS!
Well, Brian Boswell’s circus is in town again. I have been driving past the circus on a daily basis since its arrival. One would think I might be consumed with child-like memories of candy-floss, fairy lights, gaudy clowns, beautiful trapeze artists, laughter and the smell of sawdust – but sadly any sense of possible nostalgia is firmly dominated by a deep rooted regret and inner melancholy as I drive by.
Two African Elephants are contained in a small enclosure surrounded by busy traffic and concrete buildings instead of roaming free in the wild where they belong. They have little to no shade and repetitively sway from side to side. My natural instinct vehemently rejects the idea of any wild animals being taken out of their natural environments and denied their freedom in order to be used to perform silly tricks for human entertainment.
It is no secret that I firmly believe and endorse the ethical treatment of all the earth’s creatures, but while I am a passionate campaigner for this highly emotive topic; I try to take a reasonable and realistic approach.
I am being “over-sensitive”, “an alarmist” or “too much of a bunny hugger”? What about all the arguments condoning the use of wild animals in the circus? Having decided to soberly look at BOTH sides of the argument, I have spent most of my weekend doing thorough and extensive research on the topic.
I have found only whimsical anecdotes and inconclusive reports supporting the use of wild animals in modern circuses, while the arguments against such practice are overwhelming.
Here I would like to share some of the information I discovered which will explain many of the myths that circuses want you to believe—myths that help them perpetuate: THE Big lie behind the big top!
MYTH #1: Training methods are humane and gentle
“Training is through a method called positive reinforcement. Simply put, when the animal grasps what is being asked of it, it is rewarded with praise and edible treats.” – Brian Boswell
Would you expect any other response? Have you ever heard any circus actually admitting to cruelty or abuse?Detailed reports and investigations reveal otherwise. The Humane Society of the United States is just one of many organisations that have monitored circuses for over 20 years, chronicling training methods and living conditions that the animals routinely experience. These reports paint an entirely different picture.
THE FACTS
Trainers often resort to brutal methods to maintain a position of dominance. Circus training methods include beating animals with clubs and other objects (even during performances) and depriving them of food. Trainers often use bullhooks, whips, sticks, electric prods, and other tools that intentionally cause pain and injury in order to force animals to perform and sometimes strike elephants with sharpened hooks, which can result in physical injury.
A baby elephant born to the circus is first captured by lassoing all four legs rodeo style and dragged away from its mother, often before it is two years of age. Suppression and discipline is now the name of the game. To start, the baby elephant is chained by all four legs to a concrete floor for up to 22 ½ hours a day to “break” their spirits. This is physically and psychologically traumatizing for the animals and this “breaking” process can take up to 6 months.
CFA (Circus Fans Association of America) blatantly gives a definition of such practice in its glossary: “Breaking: Elementary training of animals making them ready for performance.”
Ringling Bros. Circus states on their website that: “Our training methods are based on continual interaction with our animals, touch and words of praise, and food rewards.”
Animal Defenders International (ADI) has built up a formidable body of film and photographic evidence that contradicts their statement. Video footage taken between 2001 and 2006 of Ringling trainers and handlers shows that elephants were aggressively hooked, lame elephants were forced to perform and travel, and a trainer inflicted a bloody bullhook wound behind an elephant's ear flap. Former Ringling employees that left the circus in 2006 and 2007 describe violent beatings as well as the routine abuse of elephants, horses, camels, and zebras.
When Ringling Bros. Circus was eventually taken to court employees and even CEO Kenneth Feld stated under oath and in sworn documentation that: the elephants are routinely hit with bullhooks, they are regularly chained in box cars for more than 26 hours at a time and for as long as 100 hours without a break while travelling across the country for 11 months of the year, and for as much as 22½ hours each day in Ringling's breeding centre. Baby elephants are forcibly separated from their mothers for training at age two or younger.
Remember: all training takes place behind closed doors. You don't see it, and neither do organisations such as the NSPCA. What we really see when a circus invites us in to watch a “training session”, is a rehearsal. This is merely a practice for acts already learned. Circuses easily get away with routine abuse because no government agency monitors training sessions. A substantial amount of ex-circus workers have come forward and given first-hand accounts of such abuse and animal beatings.
"Hooking, hitting. I saw elephants hit. I saw elephants bleed. I saw what I call systematic daily abuse," -barn keeper Tom Rider, who worked for the circus from 1997 to 1999
While there MIGHT actually be a few circuses who DO use humane training methods, the video/photographic evidence far out-weighs any proof of “positive reinforcement” training. Simply google “circus animals abuse” the search will reveal over 104 000 related articles. Or if you can stomach it do the same on YOUTUBE and watch some of the clips.
…… So, maybe if we keep turning a blind eye and dismiss all these reports of circus animal abuse as mere “exaggerated, bunny hugger sensationalism” we might be able to convince ourselves that the reports of abuse are isolated cases and that the circus YOU are watching doesn’t part-take in such cruelty as these abuses certainly don’t occur in South Africa … right? RIGHT???
Read on and then YOU decided ……….
Allegations of abuse against Brian Boswell’s Circus:
Just last year Brian Boswell, whose family name has been linked with circuses in South Africa for almost 100 years, was accused of ill-treating two African elephants! Undercover surveillance of Brian Boswell's Circus by non-governmental organisation Public Watch, exposed a litany of alleged cruelty to the elephants. The NGO compiled a 22-page report which details a two-day stakeout of the circus's Richards Bay site last year. Backed up with video and photographic evidence, the dossier describes the elephants' back legs being chained to a trailer. Public Watch also alleges that the elephants were: chained by their legs for 19 hours a day; subdued by handlers with spiked sticks; left outside in extreme heat with no shelter; given water only twice a day; and made to urinate on command. The report adds that the behaviour of the elephants, which persistently swayed and rocked (which I witnessed MYSELF), suggested "distress, boredom, fear and abusive training methods". The report was sent to Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
Brian Boswell’s Circus, tours the country extensively. But what is less well known is that he also owns a zoo and a lion park just outside Pietermaritzburg which have also been shrouded in allegations of cruelty.
Findings of alleged maltreatment of animals by Ezemvelo at Natal Zoological Gardens and Lion Park (both owned by Brian Boswell) in November 2008 were:
Chimpanzee Charles’s four canine teeth were broken off as a result of the application of blunt force such as a side cutter. A vet said it could have been accidental but would have caused chronic pain.
Canines of male performing chimpanzees are often removed to prevent injury to their handler or the public, but should be surgically removed.
Charles and Jessica were both kept separately in small night cages behind the main chimpanzee enclosure. They had no access to water, and no view of the outside world.
A video clip showed the chimps drinking water from a can “as if not knowing when they would get water again”.
Jessica was in an “emaciated” state.
Chimps’ cages were 1,5 m wide and appeared less than two metres deep.
Billy, the “advertisement” chimp, was kept in isolation to prevent him socialising with his species to make him more pliable and easier to train. He couldn’t see another living being.
Primates are highly sociable and keeping them in isolation is “inhumane and cruel”.
67 lions were overcrowded.
They were rotated between the lion enclosure and concrete cages, the floors of which were wet and covered in urine. This system was allegedly described as a “timeshare” system. The cages were even used during the day because there were too many lions.
International norms require lions have raised areas as lookouts where they can escape muddy conditions underfoot.
Four cheetahs were in an enclosure five metres by 17 metres, which was bare save for one log.
Two cheetah were in cages on the patio of a house on the zoo premises.
Of the 10 elephants — six African and four Asian — the four Asian elephants were seen chained by their feet at night without access to water, but were given a bale of hay.
A small elephant was found alone and isolated at night. He was allegedly held like that for 16 hours a day.
Charles (another one of the chips in Boswell’s “care”) and Jessica were sent to the Jane Goodall Institute’s Chimpanzee Eden (also known as Chimp Eden), which is set on 1 000 hectares on part of the Umholti Nature Reserve — in Mpumalanga.
A Chimp Eden report says Jessica was severely emaciated when she arrived. She had very little hair and made no attempt to have any contact with her new keepers. She had lost three of her finger tips and she refused to show her hands or eat.
In the Carte Blanche interview, Brian Boswell disputes that she was underweight.
Brian: ‘Ja well I don't know what she weighs now ok, but they weighed her at 22 kilos...'
Devi: 'Is that normal for a 25-year-old chimp?'
Brian: 'The female we have here weighs 23 kilos.'
Devi: 'So why is she picking up weight now?'
Brian: 'Well I dunno what she weighs. They're trying to tell us that a female's weight should be 75 kilos and that's nonsense because the males we got here you can see as well are 44 kilos and 45 kilos.'
(Admitting that his male chips are also under-weight is hardly a solid defense!!!)
After a year of dedicated care by Eugene Cussons and the staff at the rescue centre, Jessica and Charles are thriving. Speaking of the emaciated Jessica when she arrived at the centre, Eugene Cussons (managing director of Chimpanzee Eden) said it was like “dealing with a Holocaust victim”.
…..Now – given the allegations of cruelty against the Boswell’s circus as well as his OTHER establishments, would you still, really rather choose to believe that they treat their circus animals in a humane and ethical way at ALL times?
Further reading:
MYTH #2: The animals physical needs are met in circuses
THE FACTS
Due to the schedules of the travelling circus, circus animals are confined to boxcars and trailers for days at a time in extremely hot and cold weather, often without access to basic necessities, such as food, water, and veterinary care. The enclosures are rarely controlled for the extremes of temperature, to which the animals are exposed with little/no chance to exercise. Elephants, big cats, bears, and primates are confined to cramped and filthy cages in which they eat, drink, sleep, defecate, and urinate—all in the same place.
Large animals like elephants, lions and tigers need a huge amount of space to be able to move around. In the wild an elephant walks on average 20 miles per day. In a circus it is shut up or tethered most of the day and denied this opportunity to roam for miles as they would in the wild.
Lions and tigers are shut in their beast wagons for over 90% of the time.
The RSPCA's greatest concern is the disparity between the conditions imposed on wild animals by circus life and the environment that these animals need for their well-being. Life in the wild cannot be replicated on the back of transportation trucks or at circus sites around the country.
Main concerns for circus animals are: 1) Continual transportation. 2) Continual confinement. 3) Unnatural social groups.
MYTH #3: The animals emotional needs are met in circuses
THE FACTS
Circus animals are denied the right to socialise with their own kind, to be part of a family herd and to bathe and forage for food or express the range of behaviours that are natural for them.
Relentless travelling schedules cause huge amounts of stress for animals – as it does for humans!
Transporting them from site to site and exposing them to abnormal social groups and noisy conditions all add up to a recipe for poor animal welfare.
MYTH #4: Circuses serve wild animal species by educating children and adults.
THE FACTS
Watching wild animals perform unnatural tricks outside their natural habitats doesn't teach people anything about WILDlife or the animals natural behaviour. In fact it creates a miscinception that wild animals can/should be kept and trained as domesticated pets.
There is nothing to be learnt from seeing an elephant struggling to stand on its head whilst assailed by loud music under the glare of circus lights. The idea of publicly humiliating an animal to prove that man is capable of this sort of dominance is not fun. In fact, it is sad, depressing and irresponsible. We can learn far more from the excellent "on the spot" TV programmes which do not interfere with animals in the wild.
“When [circuses] portray animals as freaks and curiosities, devoid of context or dignity, circuses are perpetuating outdated attitudes. Wild animals in the circus are reduced to mere caricatures of their kind, exhibited just for financial gain. In this way, they corrupt our children, promoting the notion that exploitation and degradation is acceptable, even brave or funny.” - David Hancocks, former director of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle
MYTH #5: Laws protect animals in circuses
THE FACTS
The care of animals in South Africa is regulated by two Acts – namely the Animals Protection Act, 1962 (Act 71 of 1962) and the Performing Animals Protection Act, 1935 (Act 24 of 1935). The responsibility for the two Acts (Act 71 and 24) was transferred to the National Department of Agriculture (DoA) in 1997.
All the SPCAs in South Africa are governed by the SPCA Act 169 of 1993 which is administered by the NSPCA, thus constituting it as a statutory body. Inspectors are authorised in terms of the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 and the Performing Animals Protection Act No. 24 of 1935, with the NSPCA and the SPCAs undertaking over 90% of all animal welfare investigations and prosecutions.
The NSPCA itself opposes the use of wild animals for entertainment: "Our concerns are based on welfare principles and the unnecessary confinement and transportation of these social creatures for the sole purpose of entertainment," said Brenda Santon, manager of the NSPCA's wildlife unit.
The current laws in our country are far from ideal and Santon expresses the NSPCA’s dissatisfaction at the stance that has been taken by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism regarding the provisions for captive elephants under the draft Norms and Standards for the management of elephants.
See Brenda Santon’s full statement here:
http://www.nspca.co.za/page.aspx?Id=181&CateId=20&Category=Wildlife&SubCateId=181&SubCategory=Elephant – Fax
The NSPCA has vehemently stated its opposition to the removal of elephants from the wild for purposes of domestication and training.
But even with the best laws in the world, those laws mean nothing without having the infrastructure to enforce them and in circumstances of constant travelling and temporary accommodation, welfare will always be compromised. The life of a circus animal consists of confinement and deprivation, punctuated by violence. No other working animals spend such a long time, normally at least eight months, in temporary mobile accommodation, thus making animal transport regulations difficult for police and the NSPCA to enforce.
MYTH #6: Animals in circuses have an extended life-expectancy:
THE FACTS
Maiza is an ex-circus tiger from Bolivia. She could have lived till 40 in the wild, where the average life span of a lion is double that in captivity but she is frail and nearly blind after 18 years in the circus, jumping through flaming hoops and performing at the point of trainer's whip. Two of her cubs had their fangs cut for trainers who wow crowds by sticking their heads inside lions' mouths. Another, not Maiza's, had her claws ripped out at birth – without anaesthetic.
Are we really going to argue “quantity over quality” of years? Given the choice, I am sure Maiza and the cubs would have chosen a life of freedom in their natural environment and habitat and allowed nature to take its course rather than enduring many more years of cruelty in captivity.
MYTH #7: It is fine for animals born in captivity
THE FACTS
Wild animals are not domesticated to co-exist in a symbiotic relationship with people; they will not readily volunteer to please people by performing meaningless, repetitive routines in large noisy arenas.
Regardless of the number of generations that wild animals have been in captivity, captive-born wild animals have not lost their natural instinct to socialise and need to roam freely. Wild circus animals often show their distress through abnormal behaviour, also known as displacement activity. This can take the form of constant swaying, bobbing, weaving or pacing up and down.
MYTH #8: Circus animals have nowhere else to go
THE FACTS
There are various wildlife sanctuaries across the country were animals can peacefully retire and that specialize in the REHABILIATION of such animals and reintroducing them into the wild when possible. Lawrence Anthony (Author of ‘The Elephant Whisperer’, winner of the Earth Day medal presented at the United Nations and founder of the Earth Organization) is renowned for the conservation and rehabilitation of elephants and strongly objects to elephants in circuses.
MYTH #9: The circus is safe fun for the whole family
THE FACTS
Frustrated by years of beatings, bullhooks, and shackles, some animals snap. And when a wild animal rebels against a trainer's physical dominance, trainers cannot protect themselves, let alone the public. In 1990, a chimpanzee abandoned his motorcycle act, rushed into the stands, and bit a child. In 1994, a baby elephant named Mickey was beaten during a performance. A month later, during another performance, Mickey attacked a child.
In 1994, an elephant killed her trainer and injured 12 spectators before being gunned down by almost 100 bullets while running terrified through downtown Honolulu. In 1992, officer Blayne Doyle had to shoot Janet, an elephant who charged out of the Great American Circus arena with five children on her back.
In speaking before members of Congress about the dangers of elephant rampages, Doyle lamented, “I have discovered, much to my alarm, that, once an elephant goes out of control, nothing can be done. It is not a predictable or preventable accident. The only thing that can be done and even this is a danger to the public is to get a battery of police officers in with heavy weapons and gun the elephant down."
MYTH #10: Activist want to close circuses down and ban this traditional entertainment completely
THE FACTS
On the contrary. We should certainly applaud the human circus performers who do truly amazing feats, train and work so very hard and skillfully at their artistry. This is not a means to take away from the talented trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, tightrope walkers, and acrobats--nor is it meant to make a reduction in the delectation and amusement of circuses, let's just omit the animals!
Some of the best circus acts in the world have not one single animal act, just acrobats, clowns and a mind-blowing spectacle of human showmanship. The Latest Shows on Earth—Cirque du Soleil, the New Pickle Family Circus, Cirque Éloize, and others—are exciting and innovative circuses that dazzle audiences without animal acts and are highly popular.
Let’s rather support shows without wild animals and watch the wonder of these animals in their natural environment captured on camera by sensitive and respected wildlife photographers.
Other strange arguments I have COME ACross
“Well, at least circus animals are not in the wild being poached.”
Say WHAT? Well then perhaps we should all be locking our kids up in rooms/cages so cramped they are unable to move freely and prevent them from living a natural life and doing what kids do in order to avoid the possibility that they MIGHT get stabbed at school?
Would you lock your wife up in your home, beat her with sticks/rods and then simply shrug and defend it with : "Well, at least I don't let her walk outside to be raped!"?
“But my kids were so looking forward to it. I can’t disappoint them.”
Huh? So maybe next time your kids ask if they can swim in a crocodile infested river you should allow THAT too in order not to disappoint them. Seriously! Isn’t handling disappointments part of growing up?
I’m sure many children will not even WANT to go to the circus once parents have reasoned with- and educated their children on WHY they do not condone watching wild animals being forced to jump through hoops. Surely parents would rather teach their children to think beyond just their own personal needs, thereby reinforce lessons of compassion and empathy.
“So what. They are animals. Not humans!”
Sadly, it is usually futile to argue with this type of mentality. There will always be those who are comfortable believing this and who find it easier to ease their conscience than face up to the fact that it is exactly this sense of entitlement and superiority by the human race that is the root cause of many of our environmental problems.
Ironically it is usually these very people who regard empathy and compassion as traits that set us apart from animals?!?!?
Animals are also sentient beings that eat, sleep and breathe. They have sexual intercourse (some even orgasm), reproduce and care for their young for whom they will risk their lives. They form close bonds with one another, interact, play and have defined social structures. They have distinct personalities which highlight individual identity and experience a wider range of emotions …. So, how different are we really?
Please read: Six 'uniquely' human traits now found in animals
But even if certain people regard the human race a SUPERIOR to animals – it must still be noted that most religions of the world (Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam) all clearly promote responsible custodianship of animals and denounce cruelty of any form.
Lawrence Anthony says: "Our inability to think beyond ourselves or to be able to co-habit with other life forms in what is patently a massive collaborative quest for survival, is surely a malady that pervades the human soul" he goes on: "As individuals we are responsible for more than just ourselves and our own kind. There is more to life than just this. We must each one of us also bring the natural world back into proper perspective in our lives, and realize that doing so is not some lofty ideal, but a vital part of our personal survival."
“Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind.” - Carina Kennard
What you can do
Boycott circuses using wild animals
The circus is a money-making business like any other. Lack of demand = end of supply!
Buying your ticket means your money contributes to the continued suffering of the animals - so instead, support cruelty free human circuses.
Use word of Mouth
Tell your family, friends, neighbours, mates, school friends and workmates why animals in circuses suffer, how the conditions are cruel and why the use of exotic animals in circuses must stop. Parents planning a family trip to the circus do so with the best intentions and often don't know about the violent training sessions and living conditions these animals endure. You do – so share this knowledge in a polite and reasonable way and help educate others.
Contact any circuses you know of using wild animals.
Letters don't have to be rebuttals, rather than continually criticizing the establishment focus on suggesting positive changes. Keep personal grudges and name-calling out of letters; they'll hurt your credibility and your issues will probably be dismissed as irrational and exaggerated.
In 2006 Brian Boswell is quoted as saying: “And who cares if there’s a few animal rightists carrying banners? The public won’t stay away if there’s ten or fifteen people outside. My granddad used to say: good publicity is good, but bad publicity is better.”
Obviously the issue to him is about ticket sales so launching into a rant about why using wild animals in a circus is ethically questionable is pointless. Rather, politely explain why you and your family will not be attending the circus and assure him that should he discontinue using wild animals, his tickets sales will not decrease – but rather increase. Use positive suggestions rather than negative commands!
Circus Promoter's Research Shows Animal Acts Are Unnecessary: In 1993 a survey of 375 residents from Queensland rural centre's was conduced for entrepreneur Michael Edgley on behalf of Edgley Ventures. Researchers found that 61 percent of people planning to see the Moscow Circus would be just as likely to go if there were no exotic animal acts. Almost half those surveyed stated that the absence of all animals would either make no difference (38 percent) or would increase (9 percent) their desire to see a circus.
Also: McLaren Circus (a fairly new circus that sadly now also includes tigers and lions): Mclarenbros@telkomsa.net or info@mclarencircus.co.za
Write letters
Write letters to any venues/centers hosting these events and speak/write to any shops/schools/community centres displaying posters or marketing material for animal circuses.
If your child’s school is planning an outing to the circus, write to the principal highlighting the reasons the circus should not be supported.
Write letters to local newspapers and radio stations and encourage debate – just have your facts in order
Create awareness
Hand our pamphlets, send emails, share notes on FB – use any means necessary (and legal) to get the word out.
Report evidence or acts of abuse/cruelty
If possible take a camera or video camera with you and take photos or footage of the animals and their conditions. Remember to take note of the day, date, time and place, plus any other details you think would help. Report this with the NSPCA or local SPCA or lay a charge of abuse at your local police station.
Remember the internationally recognized and accepted guiding principles for animal care:
The Five Freedoms:
1) freedom from hunger, thirst and malnutrition
2) freedom from fear and distress
3) freedom from physical and thermal discomfort;
4) freedom from pain, injury and disease;
5) freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour
The Humane Society of the United States opposes the use of wild animals in circuses and other travelling acts because cruelty to animals is inherent in such displays.
The RSPCA is opposed to the use of exotic wild animals in circuses and believes that it is impossible for the activities of wild animals in circuses to ever achieve any worthwhile goals in education, research or conservation.
Sweden, Austria, Costa Rica, India, Finland, Bolivia, Greece and Singapore have all banned or put limited restrictions on the utilization of animals in circuses--it's time for us to do the same and execute this message throughout the world.
"The idea that it is funny to see wild animals coerced into acting like clumsy humans, or thrilling to see powerful beasts reduced to cringing cowards by a whipcracking trainer is primitive and medieval. It stems from the old idea that we are superior to other species and have the right to hold dominion over them."
- Dr. Desmond Morris, anthropologist, animal behaviorist, author
Resources:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
In an interview with M-NET’s Carte Blanch, Dr Jean Harris (General Manager of Conservation Planning at KZN Wildlife) said: “It is very encouraging to us that Mr Boswell says that he is no longer chaining his elephants and using spiked sticks on them. However in our recent inspection in June we found chains and hoops to which these chains are attached in the night enclosures.” Harris went on to say: “We were particularly concerned about how thin and frail one of the chimpanzees known as Jessica was and this was one of the reasons that we insisted that they be moved from Boswell’s zoo to a safe sanctuary.”
