Throngs of kids and parents swarmed the Sprint Center last night for the opening of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. But they had to pass by a different circus outside in order to make it into the Big Top.
A huge elephant, whose body was made of gray plastic tablecloth and whose legs were made of little humans, lumbered outside of the entrance with a sign on its back bemoaning the supposed cruelty done to his species by the circus. One woman brandished a piercingly sharp bullhook and announced that the instrument was used to train the elephants. "Do not, buy, the tickets!" shouted a young elefriend at the top of her lungs, her tiny voice punctuated by shallow breaths.
"Would you like to see what they do to the baby animals? another demonstrator yelled. "They chain them up for 23 hours a day!"
Parents shielded their children and pulled them away from the protesters, but one woman holding a child in her arms and leading another by the hand slowed her pace. "Oh no, I've been in there, and that's not what they do," she said loudly.
"Oh yes, honey, they do!" the protester yelled after her as the family disappeared into the masses.
Susanne McDaniel, who works for the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation, didn't look happy about the reactions to the protest. "We're getting little smiles, like 'Yeah, right.' I'm hearing a lot of 'I don't cares,'" she said.
Their slice of sidewalk wasn't exactly prime real estate. The activists had to share it with blond salesgirls from Wendy's, who were giving out coupons for a new meaty breakfast special. Sculptures of a sunny-side-up egg flanked by two wavy slices of bacon were bolted into the sidewalk, an ironic backdrop for the protest against animal cruelty:
Andre du Broc stood alone with a sign, close to one of the slices of bacon. He was dressed normally, without elephant garb or clown makeup, but the protest hit closest to home for him. A graduate of the Class of '92 at Ringling Clown College and a former Ringling Circus clown, du Broc toured with the circus for a little over a month. After that, he quit. "Because of the animal cruelty and the homophobia, I left. I couldn't take it," he said.
In Clown College, du Broc recalled his teachers telling students how well the animals were treated in the circus. But when he was graduated into the Big Top, he saw elephants being beaten, bored with bullhooks, and prodded in their genitals. "They would scream," he said.
"When I brought it up to my Boss Clown, he just looked at me and walked away. I had crossed a line," du Broc claimed. After that incident, he said, du Broc began to be harassed by his co-clowns for being gay. "I began to worry. You're put in some precarious, dangerous situations in the circus, and I worried I'd be hurt," he said. So he quit.
Now, du Broc guest blogs for PETA and The Advocate about his experiences with Ringling.
"Everyone behind those doors knows exactly what's going on," du Broc said. "This is theater. You see only what they want you to see. You don't watch this show from the back."
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Hard to know who is telling the truth, is it this side or the other side, I needed to see proof with my own eyes. Well, I have no doubts about the truth now, and you won�t either after you look.
These are official statements released by Ringling Bros. Circus about complaints that they abuse their elephants.
�Animals at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey� are healthy and well cared for by a team of full-time veterinarians and an animal care staff that works to ensure that the animals have an enriching and safe environment.�
Ringling Bros. is a world leader in the care and conservation of the endangered Asian elephant, and has established the 200-acre Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation� in Florida, a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to the reproduction, research and retirement of Asian elephants.
The other side asks Ringling Bros. Circus to explain these pictures, videos of Ringling�s trainers with the elephants and what about the medical reports describing:
All of Ringling�s adult elephants suffer from foot-related problems � lameness, nail cracks, and toe abscesses � and many have arthritis, all as a result of being restrained by chains and standing on hard surfaces for most of their lives.
14 of Ringling�s 16 baby elephants suffer from similar foot and joint problems, again as a result of being restrained by chains on hard surfaces.
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Volumes of evidence were entered into the record revealing how long Ringling�s animals are kept immobilized in chains; video footage of employees hitting the elephants; government enforcement records, and medical records clearly describing the poor health conditions of the elephants. We have placed all the evidence on our website at www.bornfreeusa.org/courtdocs.
Internal written documents from Ringling Bros. Circus discuss the mistreatment of its elephants in regards to the bullhook �
Ringling�s animal behaviorist reported �an elephant dripping blood all over the arena floor during the show from being hooked.�
Ringling�s veterinary assistant reported that �after this morning�s baths, at least 4 of the elephants came in with multiple abrasions and lacerations from the hooks.� �The lacerations were very visible ... [a handler] applied wonder dust just before the show.� Wonder dust is used to stop the bleeding of a wound; because it is charcoal in color it covers up the spot from public view.
If you took the time to look at each link, you will no longer have any doubts about who is telling the truth.
I am a mother, who took my son to the Circus tonight for a fun family night. I havent been to a Circus since I was a child and just remember it's supposed to be a magical night watching all the performers and the animals. I am not a vegitarian, and I am not opposed to animals in captivity (provided they are well cared for).So, maybe this makes me incapable of offering my opinion.
However, tonight changed me. I am wondering if I should change every single thing I have ever been raised to eat and/or believe.
As soon as the very first animal act (the tigers) came on..I knew the night would forever haunt me. It's sad to say that, as my intentions were to give my son a wonderful night. But I could not help myself when the first whip was cracked. It wasn't the whip that bothered me. I was watching the tigers. I could see it in their body language. The way they winced and squirmend like their life was at stake. There was no fun for them...they were fighting to avoid being beaten by the whip and stick the trainer had.
Act by act passed full of human and also animal performers. I began to closey monitor the types of training/ controlling tools the trainers had. It was whip and stick for the tigers(all used on the animals mildly during the show), metal prods being jabbed into the elephants who all performed wonderfully by the commands of their trainers. Dogs were commanded with whips. One very agile dog jumped on the back of a pony and violently attacked his neck..repeatedly. Over and over this dog attacked the pony's neck. The pony never flinched. It was so vicious, I closed my eyes. I wondered if this was because he was so used to the abuse...he numbed himself. Or, was he to scared to flinch for fear of a whipping.
A group of Ponys, zebras, lammas, and 2 cammels came out. They were commanded to run in circles (for what seemed like hours for me). As the crowd cheered, these animals ran and ran..then the trainer would whip his whip and the group would change direction. I could see their desperation to complete the command correctly. They litterally seemed to be fighting to turn when commanded and run faster etc. It sickened me. It made the entire tent roar with cheer, it made me want to run.
I feel as if I was the only one in there who could see it in the animal's faces..in their eyes.
Tonight, for me, was tough. I wanted so badly for my son to have a fun family night. But, I know he saw my anxiety each time I saw an animal being whipped or prodded. Actually, it was my 10 year old son who first said something about the animal treatment. The first act was the tigers. He leaned over and told me he didnt like that the animals were being whipped.
When I came home, I googled circus animal treatment. Endless videos and articles came up. I watched the Ring Ling Brothers elephant abuse video and I know 100% my Circus attrnding days are over. If you are a lover of the circus and believe the circus animals are treated kindly. Please watch the video and think twice.
These animals are trained through force, fear, and brutality. Elephants hair is burned off by blowtorch. They do these unatural tricks because they fear beatings if they dont. Then they spend the rest of their days in near imobile living space. It is no wonder why these animals turn on their trainers. Please watch Ring Ling Brothers elephant training/abuse. And maybe you will have a different view of the Circus.
If you have any advice on how I can help stop this abuse, oleade let me know.
It's sad to hear the negative issues for Ringling Brothers Circus.The animals performing like elephants truly make the audience happy with their act.
You have gotta be kidding! The Quran burning event is a stupid disaster to the US people! Did Terry Jones forget the Golden Rule? Treat others as you'd want to be treated. There will undoubtedly be an international backlash against this stupid event. Just see for yourself.
Turning around people who already have tickets isn't easy. Many people simply have no clue that circuses, most notoriously Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey, treat the animals so badly. But many of their minds do get changed when they come home and research the issue for themselves. For them, the circus becomes a thing of the past. It's not just old fashioned "family fun." The circuses that use animals are archaic and cruel. I hope they will be banned in America.
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