As you saw in my last post, Animal Rights have been a problem since the 1600s, but what are some of the major points many of you asked in the comments.

Circus’s will be the focus for this post:

One of the first instances that people began to question what was ethical with animals was the use of them in shows. People such as P.T. Barnum’s name stand out in my mind when it comes to entertaining people with circuses. Yet they have been being put on since antiquity and continue to this day. They disappeared for a while and reappeared in London during the late 1700s, by the father of circus, Phillip Astley. “Astley did not originate trick horse riding, nor was he first to introduce acts such as acrobats and clowns to the English public, but he was the first to create a space where all these acts were brought together to perform a show.”(BBC News, 2003). It continued to grow into a major event for people to go to and see the strange curiosities.

However, hidden behind all the strange and oddities are the animals that were a part of it.  Very early in history did exotic animal displays become a major draw for people to come too. One of the biggest examples is a Rhino that was given to the Portuguese King by the Sultan of India, there were hundreds of people who traveled to see the undocking of the Rhinoceros for the first time to their shores. This example shows that people were drawn to animals they had never seen. And circus drew on that (MacGregor, 2010).

P.T. Barnum was one of the first to monopolize the idea of a “menagerie” of the circus experience, including a combination of circus acts, a zoological exhibition and a freak show.  Animals included in the ‘zoological exhibition’ ranged from “big cats” such as lions, tigers, and leopards to elephants and zebras. 

These exotic animals were brought from all over the world and put on display in North America. The use of animals started with equestrian acts and moved towards including more exotic animals such as elephants and big cats. The first evidence of the use of animals for entertainment other than the viewing of them was with Isaac A. Van Amburgh in 1833 who entered the cage with several of these big cats (“Ferocious Lion Acts.”)  As time passed the level of entertainment increased and became an in part requirement of a circus. You were supposed to see elephants doing tricks and tigers jumping through fire hoops. However, groups such as PETA “contends that animals in circuses are frequently beaten into submission and that physical abuse has always been the method for training circus animals. It is also alleged that the animals are kept in cages that are too small and are given very little opportunity to walk around outside of their enclosure, thereby violating their right to freedom” (ST. C. BOSTOCK, STEPHEN, 1992)

When a survey was done by Animal Defenders International (ADI) in the early 2000s came up with different data regarding animals in entertainment after 72,000 hours of observation they discovered;

• 71% of the observed animals had medical problems.
• 33% of tigers and lions did not have access to an outdoor enclosure.
• Lions spend on average 98% of their time indoors.
• An average enclosure for tigers is only 5 m².
• Elephants are shackled in chains for 17 hours a day on average.
• Elephants spend on average 10 hours a day showing stereotypical behavior.
• Tigers are terrified of fire but are still forced to jump through fire rings.
• Since 1990 there have been over 123 cases of lion attacks at circuses.
• Animals are trained through discipline (Creamer, 2013) 

This lead to the researchers wanting stricter regulations held against the use of animals in circuses.

Besides the data that has been collected the news has been filled with different since the news started to become a 24-hour service.

• In 1992, the elephant named Janet of the Great American Circus went ‘out of control’ while giving a ride to a family, following that she stampled throughout the grounds until she was finally shot by the police. (Wood, 2012)

• In 1994, another elephant named Tyke killed several people and escaped to the streets until after 86 shots by the police he eventually collapsed and died. (Wood, 2012)

• In 2009, a testimony was released that the CEO of The Ringling Bros., and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Kenneth Feld “acknowledged that circus elephants are struck behind the ears, under the chin, and on their legs with metal-tipped prods, called bullhooks (Ringling Bros. ‘Elephantgate’, 2009). Feld stated that these practices are necessary to protect circus workers. Feld also acknowledged that an elephant trainer was reprimanded for using an electric shock device, known as a hotshot or electric prod, on an elephant, which Feld also stated was appropriate practice. Feld denied that any of these practices harm elephants”

However, in 2010 a verdict was released claiming that the evidence was “not credible with regard to the allegations” (PRESS ROOM, 2010) against the Feld Entertainment International.

• After this case, Animal Rights activists continued to fight against animal abuse within the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and after 14-year litigation, these groups paid $16 million to Feld Entertainment. This caused the circus to close in 2017 due to the steep decline in sales.
  • I think this shows more about how people view Animal Rights then the blame of the Animal Rights activists’ fault.
  • However, this was a success for Animal Rights because it sent the animals which they had been connected to the circuses into reserves for them to live their natural life.

• In 2018, New Jersey became one of the first states to ban circuses, carnivals, and fairs from featuring elephants, tigers, and other exotic animals. (Burrows, 2018)

Overall, circuses create an excuse for people to mistreat animals for entertainment and monetary means. We as a society should move towards outlawing the use of animals for entertainment.

Check back for the next article on zoos for entertainment use.

 

 

 

Sources:

Bell, John. “The End of ‘Our Domestic Resurrection Circus’: Bread and Puppet Theater and Counterculture Performance in the 1990s.” TDR (1988-), vol. 43, no. 3, 1999, pp. 62–80. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1146769. Accessed 10 Feb. 2020.

Burrow, Megan. “New Jersey Is First State to Ban Wild Animal Circus Acts.” North Jersey, North Jersey Record, 15 Dec. 2018, www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2018/12/14/new-jersey-first-state-ban-wild-animal-circus-acts/2316777002/.

 C. BOSTOCK, STEPHEN. Journal of Applied Philosophy, vol. 9, no. 2, 1992, pp. 255–257. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24353696. Accessed 10 Feb. 2020.

CREAMER, JAN. “ANIMALS IN CIRCUSES.” The Global Guide to Animal Protection, edited by Andrew Linzey, by Desmond Tutu, University of Illinois Press, 2013, pp. 198–201. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt2tt9r9.132. Accessed 10 Feb. 2020.

“Ferocious Lion Acts.” Fighting Nature: Travelling Menageries, Animal Acts and War Shows, by Peta Tait, Sydney University Press, AUSTRALIA, 2016, pp. 1–36. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1dt00vp.5. Accessed 10 Feb. 2020.

MacGregor, Neil. A History of the World in 100 Objects. Penguin Books, 2010.

“PRESS ROOM.” Feld Entertainment, www.feldentertainment.com/press-room/.

“Ringling Bros. ‘Elephantgate’.” PETA, 27 Apr. 2009, www.peta.org/features/ringling-bros-elephantgate/.

BBC News, BBC,“UK | England | London | The Circus Comes to the Circus.” 8 Apr. 2003, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/2929565.stm.

Wood, Amy Louise. “‘Killing the Elephant’: Murderous Beasts and the Thrill of Retribution, 1885—1930.” The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, vol. 11, no. 3, 2012, pp. 405–444., www.jstor.org/stable/23249163. Accessed 10 Feb. 2020.