Animals performing in circus have always been something special in our childhood - watching the lions jumping through the hoops of fire, elephants walking about at the breaks and the crazy monkeys going around causing chaos. They have been around for a long time. However some people think it is not right and “unjustified”. It is also said that they get whipped and beaten, forced to do what the least enjoyable. Societies such as The Captive Animas’ Protection Society (CAPS) go completely against this.

Circus animals have had a very long history of fun entertainment which is at the heart of every families. It is a culture that cannot be eliminated after several hundred years in the making. Animals in circus have access to the vets and are less likely to get harmed. Maybe the animals enjoy what they do as their parents might have been brought up at the circus and think it’s a great opportunity. Animals have much better chances of surviving since in the wild they could get killed. Isn’t it a helpful thing to get rid of the circus?

Once there was a wild lion, who lived in the dangerous and remote area of Africa, was getting hunted down by clans fighting for food for survival. The poor lion was getting clubbed severely and almost at the point of dying. With its last efforts it ran to the nearest bushes and hid there. The lion was bleeding severely. After an hour or so a member of a circus saw the lion calling for help. He saved the animal which then joined the circus. It was cared and nurtured there, slowly getting used to the events that he did. He even roared of approval every time the audience beamed and applauded him.

If the circus was to close, it will not only affect the animals but also us. During a time of a desperate need for jobs, cutting the circus industry isn’t going to help. Thousands and thousands of people are going to go unemployed, no money and no enjoyment. From the circus truck drivers to the slick business secretary, all their jobs will be lost.

The members of CAPS would argue that animal entertainment is not the same as human entertainment. Humans understand what the risks are but not the animals. What do animals gain in a circus? Animals don’t know humans and humans don’t know animals. Without the ability to communicate, how can we claim that the animals are enjoying it? Lions might not roar of approval but pain. The wild may be more dangerous but that develops the animal’s characteristics and its natural sensitivity. The animal will learn the changes in the environments around it. So when you send lions to a circus, its natural instincts will be completely lost.

Roaming in the wild is natural. When a usual area of at least 5 acres is adequate for a lion, a cage of barely 10 metres long is absurd. Vet at a circus is just an excuse. The animals may be injured in the performance and so that’s why they have vet. Hygiene is often terrible. Fly is everywhere, manure on the floor bed, and old manky food and water. All these should not happen in the first place, and a vet will not be required.

A reporter once visited a small circus in London which was full of animals - monkeys, lions, horses etc. Whatever you name, they have it. To the reporter’s astonishment when he looked at the animals closely, he could see deep gash marks filled with maggots, eating away the flesh. He asked the man in charge if they got a vet. To his horror he replied that he wouldn’t waste his money on this. The reporter stopped to think about what made those gashes, but shocked to note there were weapons on the table. Not guns but whips, whips with metal spikes, blowtorch and even a sword! The reporter realised why the animals did all these events. It was not because they wanted to but simply had no choice. It was either pain or do what they were told. Circuses are really treating animals like toys, ripping it up, throwing it around and dumping it once they’re bored of it. So that’s why CAPS is against circuses.

My personal feeling is that even though animals in the circus create a great family show and entertainment, its unfair for them. It is just not about small dirty cages, getting puzzled by the rings of fire but the way we treat them. We give them diseases, scars and many other inhuman problems. We force them to do things they might not even know. We are unable to get consent from the animals to perform in a circus as we cannot communicate with them. Let’s treat them fairly. They should be in the wild, contributing to our ecological system naturally. To put it simply, it is not right to keep animals in circus.

what a ridiculously long essay.

sorry, but i got bored after the 2nd paragraph, nothing thought provoking

circus animals are a combination of zoo and pet animals

it has the exoticness of a zoo conjoined with the trick teaching aspects of having a pet.

provided they arent abusing the animals, i am indifferent on this issue

ducky out.

It is unnatural for these animals to be trained for the tricks they are forced to perform. They shouldn't have to live in dirty cages or jump through hoops of fire. It makes it worse that they are unable to speak up for themselves. We have to urge government officials to take action. That is the only way to stop the abuse.

you are right, ive always wanted to taste lion.

its unnatural for farm animals, pets, and even humans to live in "civlisation"

please dont be a PETA noob. please...

(btw, their cages are clean, sick animals only drain money and dont pay their way, clean, good looking, healthy animals bring in the moneys)

and im not sure if you know this, but i want to be condescending... animals cant talk. its not a disney film.

How can I decorate a family/ playroom in an ELEGANT circus theme? I have found a couple vintage french circus posters as my inspiration but am wondering about fabrics. I want the room to be used for adults as well (large flat screen for movies, antique card table, etc...) but it's really mainly going to be my 4 year old daughter's playroom. I want it fun but elegant french circus theme.. Any suggestions?

Buy it off the internet

Beint a PETA noob, has got nothing to do with this posting, let alone the obvious lack of will to post.

Have you even seen their cages? Or even, the stories of the Elephants attacking their trainers? Really? It is a result of being shown off to the world, day after day, show after show. Getting whipped, and prodded into doing things, they really don't want to do. Would you want to be forced to stand up on two legs, with one leg on a pedestal (weighing as much as they weigh)? Didn't think so.

No you are right, it is not a Disney Film, nor can animals talk, but in all honesty, if you find it enjoyable to watch them be in pain on a daily basis, just for your own amusement, then you are far worse then the trainers, and the marketeers themselves.

Enjoy the failed life.

im sorry but i lol-ed, sounded like a high class hooker.


i guess you have NEVER seen an animal get eaten alive by another animal, not an efficient, snap. but a slow tortourous death. humans undergo far worse to present themselves as entertainment, at least the animals are given a degree of health insurance~~