Circus FAQ

	How would children learn about wild animals if we ban circuses?
	Aren't all circus animals bred in captivity?
	Isn't the animals behaviour in the ring an extension of its natural activities?
	They like doing tricks don't they?
	Do the animals ever get sick, and can humans catch diseases from them?
	Animals are trained with kindness surely?
	If this suffering goes on, why don't circus workers speak out?
	Have there been any prosecutions?

How would my children learn about wild animals if we ban circuses?

There is no educational value in seeing these once proud animals in an unnatural environment. 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. Children should be encouraged to respect all animal life, in their natural surroundings - nature trails, adventure breaks and so on are the best way for us to achieve this.

Aren't all circus animals bred in captivity?

No. Consideration of just one type of circus animal, the elephant, reveals just how sad the inheritance of the big top really is. Far from the suggested aim of conservation, many of the circus elephants have been caught from the wild. Both species of elephants are used by circuses. Asian elephants are usually the older ones, whilst young African elephants are also used. The circuses say that these "babies" have been saved from a cull, giving the impression that the circus workers ran around dodging bullets to rescue them. In fact, many of these youngsters will have experienced the trauma of seeing their families killed, and may have been tied to their dead mothers before being collected and sold to a dealer. This is the traditional source for baby elephants. If the circuses really cared there are baby elephant orphanages in some African countries where the elephants could go. Instead they come to British circuses and zoos, to be exploited for profit.

Isn't the animals behaviour in the ring an extension of its natural activities?

No! Animals will run and jump in the wild if they choose to, not when forced to. Elephants do not stand on their heads in the wild. Baboons do not wear pants; horses do not walk on their hind legs; llamas and zebras do not live solitary lives - they live in groups. Animals in circuses live unnatural lives in an artificial environment.

They like doing tricks don't they?

Look at a frightened animal. When they are scared, dogs and cats will flatten their bodies to the ground, lower their ears so that they are lying flat back against the head and back away. Try looking at the big cats in the circus - they too are showing signs of stress and fear. Many circus animals display signs of stereotypic behaviour - this is a mindless, repetitive behaviour thought to be caused by stress and suffering, in an unnatural and unstimulating environment. If you decide to visit an animal circus to find out for yourself, you may well see similar behaviour. Cats will pace up and down in their beast wagons, or may sway from side to side. Elephants will rock back and forth, literally driven mad by their captivity. Bears, monkeys, horses, dogs, camels, in fact all species of animals confined in circuses which have been studied, have been seen to display these behaviours. Are a few stupid tricks really worth reducing these once beautiful animals to such a sorry state?

Do the animals ever get sick, and can humans catch diseases from them?

Yes. Animals can become ill in captivity. And in some cases this can be dangerous to humans. For example elephants can become ill with tuberculosis and can pass it on to humans. Young children are more susceptible than adults.

Animals are trained with kindness surely?

All training takes place behind closed doors. You don't see it, and neither do organisations such as ourselves or the RSPCA. 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. We have talked to ex-circus workers who have told us that animals are beaten. The film Circus Madness, made in 1993 by Animals Defenders and IAWA, shows a llama being beaten at a British circus. This photograph shows some of the "Tools of the Trade" - spikes and goads concealed in tassels for use in front of audiences.

If this suffering goes on, why don't circus workers speak out?

They do. We have talked to ex-circus workers. We know what goes on and now you do too. Like all areas of animal suffering we need proof. The circus world is a close-knit community. They train animals in private. They do not allow video cameras to be taken into performances (we wonder why!) and if you take in a camera they will make it almost impossible for you to take photographs if they think that you are an animal welfarist.

Have there been any prosecutions?

• In January 1999, Mary Chipperfield was found guilty of 12 counts of cruelty. She was filmed by undercover investigators from the Animal Defenders organisation beating a chimp. Her husband Roger Cawley was found guilty of cruelty to a sick elephant. After his prosecution, Roger Cawley resigned as a government appointed zoo inspector.
• A well known circus promoter was fined £1000 for transporting a lion cub in an overcrowded and unfit container. The cub was found to be paralysed.
• A well known circus was responsible for leaving three elephants chained in a metal container on a ship for a 25,000 mile voyage. The animals were on the ship for 3 months.

There have been many cases quoted in the press, which haven't resulted in criminal charges, but have resulted in suffering (and even death) to circus animals. All of the cases listed below have occurred in the British Isles since 1985.

• Police stopped an unroadworthy van containing sealions on the M1. It belonged to a sealion trainer. He appeared in court and was fined. The same act was later touring with a well known British circus. (1994)
• Four lions escaped in Grimsby. A passer-by was attacked. (1991)
• A zebra fell into the sea and drowned after escaping from a circus. (1993)
• An elephant called Maureen escaped in a Liverpool suburb after nearly killing her trainer. She was caught four hours later. Then she disappeared. Where is Maureen? (1990)
• After sustaining a head injury in an incident with a three ton elephant, a well known circus boss underwent a nine hour operation during which metal plates were inserted in his face. (1990)
• Inspectors found a performing dog in need of veterinary treatment. Four days later the dog had still not been seen by a vet. (1994)
• Police found four fully grown tigers abandoned in a trailer in a lay-by near Peebles. The animals were stranded there for 16 hours. (1989)
• Children screamed and cried, and families walked out when tigers were beaten with sticks during a performance of a well known circus at a site in Surrey. The animals had begun fighting in the ring. (1990)
• A circus camel escaped from a field in the New Forest, went down a busy high street and entered a service station. Motorists had to swerve to avoid the animal. (1994)
• A woman was walking her dog on a public footpath that ran past a circus site, when three dogs attacked her pet. A sign on the fence through which the dogs had escaped said: "Dogs Bite ~ Questions Later" (1994)

British circus animals have suffered abroad too.

• Circus animals were dumped in Manila at the end of a tour. One lioness ended up stuffed and used as a window display. (1989)
• 17 lions and tigers were left to rot in two rusty old trailers when a circus left town. They were there for three weeks before animal cruelty officials in New Zealand were called in because of the smell. One tiger had died and was partially eaten by the others.