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Life In A Circus

Animals in the circus don't have anything in common with their mates living in the wild


Totally denaturalised, violently subdued to the privation of their biological and ethological needs, reduced to machines and made ridiculous for our entertainment, the only thing they know is sadness and terror.


Lions and elephants living in the wild have complex social relationships, obviously annihilated in the circus. On the other hand, tigers are solitary animals: in the circus they are forced to live in a few square meters - while in the wild their territory can be larger than hundreds of square kilometres - and sometimes put together with a group of other felines.


The tamer bends the animal's will through violence and privations: either the animal obeys or it dies. Even during the shows it's not hard to see that the animals are terrified: lions often crawl on their belly, with their ears flatted back groaning quietly.

The conditions in which the animals are kept are shameful: the cages are too small (sometimes the animal cannot even stand), hygiene is scarce or missing, there's not enough light and the journeys are frequent and too long.


Animals are mortified and get conditioned, and tied to a strict routine. Every day they have to make the same movements in very small spaces. 
Elephants are usually immobilised by two short metallic chains tying their legs. 
Imprisoned in their closets with their own faeces, they spend the day obsessively shaking their heads, the only possible movement. This behaviour persists even if they are released. 


According to a recent study on circus's lions in UK, the lions spent up to 97% of the time in rooms of 1,9 x 2,4 meters. The king of jungle, which every other animal is fearful of lives in such an agonizing situation. Everything is strictly and monotonously ruled. The animals don't have any other choice but sleeping or turning nervously around their tiny cages. 


Animals suffer from the frustration of their natural instincts and from the stress provoked by captivity. Their reaction to this distress makes them develop nervous problems that can sometimes lead to aggressive behaviours. Additional stress to these out of the brink conditions is added by the long and tiresome trips throughout the country.


The most common animals to see in the circus are tigers, lions, elephants and horses. But you can also find reptiles, parrots, gorillas and chimps.


Importing chimps and exotic animals is now forbidden by the Washington Convention, but the illegal traffic is a flourishing business. Chimps are caught in the wild after all other members of the group trying to protect them are killed.


Even in case that the illegal imported animals are recognised as such, and therefore taken by the forestry department, they end up in zoos or in recovering centres if they are lucky, spending the rest of their lives in an artificial environment far from their wilderness.


The circus troops invite schools to take the students to the shows because the circus would be "a live show, entertaining and educational moment". According to them the circus also provides "a deeper knowledge of the animals, also from the point of view of their needs and life habits".


But it is not true. How can the sight of a suffering and sad animal in a cage, forced to behave so unnaturally, be educational and entertaining?

CRUELTY TO ANIMALS IN INDIAN CIRCUSES

Cruelty has been documented in numerous Indian circuses; the following are some examples:

1. According to the group People for Animals Bangalore, animals with the Rajkamal Circus, Bangalore, were kept crammed inside rusty cages, living in filth amid their own waste. One lion was missing an eye, and several other animals were suffering from untreated wounds.
2. At the Grand National Circus, inspectors found animals confined to small cages with little to no space to move about, including four lion cubs who were all crammed into a single small cage. Elephants had been driven mad from continuous chaining, and  none of the circus's animals had access to food or water.
3. Some years ago, The Empire Circus was found to be travelling with 10 tigers, 10 lions and a Himalayan bear in violation of the Supreme Court ruling banning the Circus Federation of India from using lions, tigers, panthers, bears and monkeys in shows. Elephants were forced to spend all their time shackled by three feet, horses were tied with short ropes and unable to move freely, dogs suffered miserably in cramped cages and cockatoos were kept in small cages without perches, forcing them to cling to the sides of the cage. PETA India immediately filed a report on this cruelty with the Animal Welfare Board of India.
4. Animals used by the Kohinoor Circus suffered injuries as a result of being transported in cramped, unsafe cages. The circus was also found to be using endangered animals – including a pregnant Royal Bengal tiger – in violation of a Supreme Court ruling that bans the exhibition and training of endangered animals.
5. Two of the four chimpanzees, ranging in age from 10 to 43 years, forced to travel and perform with the Great Royal Circus werefound to be suffering from injuries and illness. One chimpanzee, 22-year-old Lakshmi, could not sit or stand and was discovered lying in a blood-stained bed. After being rescued by Blue Cross Chennai and People for Animals Chennai, a veterinary exam revealed that Lakshmi was paralysed. She died a short time later.
6. The Gemini Circus prevented horses, camels and elephants from moving by tying the animals' hind legs. Dogs were forced to live in cramped wooden enclosures, and all the cages and food dishes were filthy.
7. At the Jumbo Circus, inspectors found a chained chimpanzee frantically jerking and pulling on the chain in a desperate attempt to escape. They also discovered that a hippopotamus was suffering from an eye disease and that Indian parrots kept by the circus did not have proper ownership certificates.

INADEQUATE ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS

Laws designed to protect animals in India have been enacted, including the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 (PCA Act), the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules of 2001 under the PCA Act, the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972, as amended in 1991 (WLPA), the International C.I.T.E.S. (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) treaty and provisions under the Indian constitution. However, these laws are not always enforced. Officials often turn a blind eye to abusive treatment of animals and other violations of the law when circuses come to town.

Although former Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Maneka Gandhi implemented a ban on circus's use of bears, monkeys, tigers, lions and panthers in October 1998, circuses have largely disregarded the regulation. 

What We Can Do:

• If want your children to learn about animals, then the best thing to do is to show them documentaries, read books, look in the internet and even take them in the animal's natural environment (wildlife sanctuaries and national parks) when it's not disturbing the animal itself.
• Never pay to see performances by circuses that use animals.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, detailing the cruelty inherent in animal-based circuses.
• Call your local radio and television stations and ask them to air messages about circus cruelty. 
• When a circus comes to your town, find out if it using banned animals (ie, lions, tigers, panthers or bears). PETA can provide advice and guidance on what actions to take if you discover that a circus is using these animals.
• Organise a demonstration to educate circusgoers about how animals are treated behind the scenes. PETA India can supply posters and leaflets and advise you on inviting the media.
• Another solution is to visit the centres where people work in order to recover animals.