With an uproar from the crowd, the elephant stood on its hind legs and walked the length of the room before finally falling on all fours. The trainer bowed as the audience stood up and began to leave. As the seats were finally emptied the trainer turned to the elephant and said in a grumble, “At least you’re popular, no one likes your sister anymore – we’ll just have to get rid of her.” As the elephant whined the trainer whipped her causing the poor elephant to hobble off the stage.
From roaring lions to leaping bears circuses have always been known for their crazy acrobatics and stunts! But what’s been more popular recently has been the animals used for those acts!
But like always, there’s a downside – a big downside.
Animals – for as long as circuses have existed – have been treated in ways many people can’t imagine.
Whipping them, starving them, and sleep deprivation – these animals are treated cruelly for the sake and entertainment of us.
“I think animals shouldn’t be in circuses because to train the animals, they hit them and that is a really cruel way to teach them tricks,” 7th grader Sophia Allison Rustia said. “I think that they shouldn’t even include animals in circuses because the animals in the circus belong outside in the wild.”
Everyday small circuse makes around $500 – $5,000 per performance while the much bigger ones (Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus, etc.) make around $50 million a year on animal shows alone!
Despite all the challenges circuses face – declining ticket sales, and animal abuse protests, new circuses and carnivals have come and seem to be going strong.
According to the Wisconsin Historical Society “By the 1910s the Ringling Bros. Circus had more than 1,000 employees, 335 horses, 26 elephants, 16 camels, and other assorted animals that traveled on 92 railcars. The Barnum and Bailey Circus was roughly the same size.”
“Animals shouldn’t be in circuses; yes, while they are a great source of entertainment and earn money for the circus, not many people know how the animals are being treated when they aren’t performing,” 7th grader Saanvi Kulkarni said.
This brings up a very important question: why? Why are people doing this to poor animals? Well, there’s one answer – money. People need money to survive but taking an animal out of its habitat and abusing it just for the money is downright cruel. Kulkarni’s Idea of animals being taken away from their homes brings up an important point – how would you feel if you were taken away from your home, family, and friends? How would you feel if you had to be subjected to cruel punishment just because you don’t know what you’re doing? And worst of all – how would you feel if you couldn’t talk to anyone and had to sit by yourself?
No one would like that! So, why do it to animals? There’s no point and you’re just hurting some poor animal for your gain.
“They’re abused and harmed in many different ways; when they do something wrong, sometimes they are whipped or even starved. They don’t know what is being done to them, nor do they know why they are being treated so badly. I don’t think it’s humane to abuse animals, who can hardly defend themselves just to get money – after all, the animals are living things, too. How would you feel if you were being treated like circus animals are, without knowing anything?” Kulkarni Says
Animals shouldn’t be in circuses, they abuse them and hurt them. If you want to help stop animals from being in circuses click this link.
