By their very nature circuses cannot provide sufficient space and appropriate conditions to guarantee the psychological well-being of their animals, especially social species like elephants.

And as a result many circus animals show signs of stress exhibited by abnormal or stereotypic behaviour. This, in big cats and bears, can take the form of weaving movements, walking in circles and sharp upward movements of the head. Head weaving and chewing on the bars of the crib are typical in elephants. Crib biting is also seen in some horses.

The ISPCA believes that animal acts in circuses fulfil no useful function. They are said to provide harmless entertainment for humans, but this disregards the suffering caused to the animals involved. Circuses certainly have no educational benefit – animals are presented in an unnatural environment – and despite claims by circus proprietors to the contrary circuses do not help the conservation of rare species in any structured or scientific way.

 

There are many circuses which do not use animals – try those instead.
If circuses are not banned on council owned land in your area try to get your local authority to do so by writing them a letter containing the points outlined here.There are about 15-20 circuses operating in Britain. Because of highlevels of public concern circuses have been banned using the land of 95 the 265 local authorities responded to a questionnaire carried out the All Party Parliamentar y Group for Animal Welfare.
Although the acts underneath the big top may look glamorous and exciting - behind the spangles and sparkle is a very different story.

 

Circuses may travel hundreds of miles in a year and the animals are transported in cages or beast wagons which invariably become the animals' home. The available space is often less than 2.5 square metres per lion, tiger or leopard.

Circus animals are often confined for long periods of time while they are waiting to travel. They may be kept in the beast wagon from the end of the last evening’s performance through the night and through the following day while the equipment is being packed up.
The circus then moves on and the equipment may be unpacked at the next site while the animals remain in the beast wagon. They stay there until the following night when they may at last be allowed out into whatever additional space is available. This could involve a total confinement of 36 hours or more.

Some circuses have winter quarters, but these do little to improve the circus animals' quality of life. The conditions can be substantially worse than those found on the temporary show sites. Because the animals are not on public view proprietors may be lax about ensuring the animals are kept in good conditions. In winter quarters there is no guarantee that the animals will have access to exercise yards or cages. They may often be kept indoors in inadequate buildings sometimes without adequate heating throughout the entire winter.

Anyone who has seen a circus animal like a lion or tiger respond to the trainer’s commands to perform unnatural acts by slinking across the ring with its belly close to the ground, ears flattened and sometimes snarling loudly; has seen an animal likely to have been trained by fear. These training methods can include restraint and physical force in addition to baiting, luring, coaxing and rewarding.
Trainers often use sticks and sometimes sharp tools like the elephant hook or a walking stick with a nail in the end as a training aid for elephants. Contrary to popular belief, elephants have sensitive skin and suffer pain from jabs designed to coerce them into performing unnatural and demeaning acts such as handstands on pedestals. The big top audience is oblivious to the cruel way in which these feats are brought about for their entertainment.

Produced by kind permission of the RSPCA