Why ban circuses with animals?

Have you ever wondered what all the hype about use of animals in circuses is all about? This post is not a personal attack on circuses or anyone who attends, rather I am hoping to raise awareness about the welfare of the animals involved.

Do you know what this instrument is?  No? Keep reading..

This cruel ''tool'' is a bull hook and is commonly used to ''train'' circus animals. If you think this is not still happening in 2016, think again. There is plenty of covert footage proving otherwise.

The use of animals in circuses is an ancient practice and many circuses claim that they could not survive financially without the animals. This is not the case. There are many very successful circuses now that do not have animals. The most obvious is Cirque du Soleil. If you have looked at ticket prices lately you will know that they are doing very well indeed! Other non - animal circuses include Circus Oz, Zirka circus and Circus vargas. You can find a list here   http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/amazing-animal-free-circuses/

Animal cruelty in circuses is not limited to cruel training procedures. Animals are also often confined to small areas for long periods of time. Some countries have strict legislation regarding welfare of circus animals and travelling duration, housing requirements and feeding, but many countries do not have these laws. For example, 2009 New South Wales standards for exhibiting wild animals states that big cats must be given a minimum floor space of 20 square metres (or 65 feet) for each animal and 10 square metres for each additional animal. Given that a wild lion can wander a territory of 259 square kilometres or 100 square miles, these regulations seem rather insignificant.

Both images from Peta

It is true that not all circuses engage in the horrific animal cruelty that investigators have uncovered, but we need to ask ourselves whether keeping animals in such unnatural conditions for our entertainment is really the most compassionate or evolved way to be.
Many countries around the world including Austria, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia have banned use of animals in circuses. You can find a list here  http://www.stopcircussuffering.com/circus-bans/

This image won first prize in Nature singles category 2015 World Press Photo Contest and was captured by Yongzhi Chu of China and shows a monkey being trained for the circus cowering as its trainer approaches.

Here is a short video showing the life of a circus animal. Warning: some of these scenes are distressing.

For more insight into the life of an elephant in the circus, please go and watch ''Tyke - Elephant outlaw'' the story of one elephant who did not calmly accept her fate. You can find this amazing film on Netflix.  Here is the trailer.

This has been a terribly hard post to write as the abuse and sadness that you can find on the web can be overwhelming. I really hope that I have helped to raise awareness about the issues facing these magnificent animals and maybe some who read this may make different choices. Thanks for reading.

˝The notion that it is entertaining to see animals being coerced into acting like clumsy humans, or amusing to see powerful animals reduced and cowering to whips, supports the old idea that we are superior to animals of other species and we have the right to dominate them.˝ - Dr Desmond Morris, anthropologist and expert on animal behaviour.

Simona Kossak - a real life faerie

Image: Lech Wilczek

Few people experience the natural world in the way Krakow born writer and animal advocate has done. After falling in love with a run-down cottage in Dziedzinka, in the middle of the Bialowieza Forest she proceeded to live there for thirty years.

Image: Lech Wilkzek

Many animals regarded her as a friend as she cared for them when they were injured or orphaned. Simona is perhaps best known for her terrorist crow friend who would steal gold from people and terrorise bicycle riders. A tame lynx slept on her bed and a boar shared the cottage. Simona also fought for lynx and wolves in the forest as researches were using barbaric traps to catch and tag the animals.

Many regarded her as a witch because of her lifestyle and communication with animals, which she describes as beginning when her deer friends alerted her to danger ahead by warning her verbally.

Simona also developed a warning device that alerted wild animals to trains.

Image: Lech Wilczek

Including radio talks, Simona wrote a book about her time in the forest and this has been translated to English by Elzbieta Kowalewska. There are a few copies around. I certainly intend to find one.

 Simona believed people should live simply, close to nature.  What a fantastic, brave woman.