What happened to Ming?
For more than six years, Peter Jolly’s Circus was the only circus in the UK to use a bear until she died recently. Ming, a 25-year-old American black bear, had been with the circus from just a few days old although cubs would naturally remain with their mother for the first 17 months. In her early days as a circus ‘performer’ Ming apparently used to ride a motorbike. In more recent years her act consisted of nothing more than being paraded around the circus ring, by a lead attached to a neck collar, by Peter Jolly. One lap around the ring and she would be seated and given a bottle of milk to drink. Act over, Ming was taken back to her cage behind the Big Top. That was life for Ming, day in, day out. In the wild, black bears occupy a diverse range of habitats and live on a varied diet that changes with the seasons. While mostly living on grasses, herbs and fruit they are capable of taking down adult deer and elk. 25 years of a circus cage, a dog lead and a bottle of milk can never be a real substitute for the life that Ming should have had. In 2003, the only other bear in a UK circus, 12-year-old Fred, was sent to a specialist bear sanctuary in Canada following a long campaign by CAPS. (Click here for details) In June 2007, the circus claimed that Ming had died, presumably some time over the winter when the circus was not on tour. CAPS is calling on Peter Jolly’s Circus to fully and publicly reveal the events surrounding Ming’s death – whether it was a long-term illness, to release veterinary records and details of any post mortem, etc and what was done with her body. WHAT YOU CAN DO
Photographs © Captive Animals Protection Society |
