Abuse Of Animals In The Circus

Elephants have a historical role in the circus, which is often hard for people to let go of, because it becomes connected to tradition. Excepted values of what society holds as morally right becomes blurred allowing for the abuse of animals, specifically elephants, to continue and for this abuse to not be stopped by proper regulation. Ringling Bros. has a long standing record of having elephants in the show. Abuse is common to find in the circus with elephants outside of their natural habitat. There is a growing movement to immediately remove elephants from circus acts eventually turning the show into human only performances.
Elephants play an integral role in the circus, which has a deep rooted tradition in western culture. Rings of Desire:
In the early 19th century circuses had to use various forms of advertisement to entice people to see the exotic menagerie. In these menageries the key features were elephants and giraffes. People had to be convinced to come to the circus, which is where the tradition of displaying huge posters and newspapers printing large amounts of advertisement arose (52). This idea was a unique concept: to have wild beasts perform acts in front of an audience. After seeing the feat, this was enough to establish this tradition in American culture of the circus, a pastime older than baseball. People now question the integrity of the show as it is a trend in contemporary society to look at aspects of our culture that have been established and take a new perspective of having live animal acts in the show is right environmentally or ethically. Stephanie Sinclair wrote a piece for the New York Times, Running Away with the Circus, which looks at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus as the elephants are to retire from its shows in the near future. Circuses change along with the public and the main
Sadly, abuse has been documented numerous times in multiple shows and in specific cases. National Geographic looks at abuse elephants face in the circus in an article, Elephant Abuse Charges Add Fuel to Circus Debate written by Maryann Mott. A point discussed is making elephants who can weigh as much as 8,000 pounds perform tricks, in particular headstands. The trainers will be cruel and break the animals physically and emotionally in order to bend their will. Additionally, the strain of being on the road can be detrimental and takes away from their quality of life. They can be on the show for up to 50 weeks a year and are transported in trailers for as long as days at a time. This lifestyle is not compatible with their needs which are better suited for the wild. Elephants are social animals who migrate during their lifetime (Mott 2). In 2011 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus agreed to pay a $270,000 fine after facing charges from the USDA, the United States