Well, I’m so glad I’m not your family! The stress of constant transportation, confinement, limited opportunity to engage in natural behaviours, enforced physical stress from performing unnatural tricks in a small area….these are not things I would choose to inflict on my family just to earn money from them! The circus is NO fun for animals!

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Great to see such a positive article — thankyou. I am a member of the circus community. We often find that newspapers trot out cliches without taking a look for themselves at how the animals are kept, transported, and cared-for.

I encourage Linda Manley-Bird to take a first-hand look, too. I’m sorry to say that her post reads like quotes from animal rights leaflets rather than as an opinion from someone of independent thought. For example,transportation isn’t ‘constant’; it’s for a couple of hours once a week, in well-equipped purpose-built vehicles. Kids going back and forth to school by car each day spend more time being ‘transported’! Should the school run be labelled an ‘infliction’?

The circus doesn’t appeal to everyone, we know that; but, even if you don’t wish to go, you can rest assured that the animals are treated with care and respect and, as Petra Jackson suggests above, with love.

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Using animals in entertainment is “traditional” in the very worst sense of the term. It is an outdated, unnecessary and cruel practice.

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Well Chris , its a shame the Circus community refuses to see that using animals for people’s entertainment is wrong. The only reason you do this for is to make money. Not for the welfare of the animals, notbecause you love the animals but pure and simple for the money as cute animals bring in the punter

Animals have not been put on this earth for our exploitation. Animals should be in their own environment, for example you seem to have zebra’s. HOW on earth can you claim they are in suitable accommodation ”well-equipped, purpose built vehicles” when they have 100′s of acres to roam around in , freedom to go where they please, and to live naturally.

Instead of that they have to live in a small trailer, perform unnatural acts to please their trainer, and get boarded up to be transported to the next venue. These are not natural acts for animals. Animal exploitation equals animal cruelty and the sooner it get banned the better.
If you want to have a circus, have a circus with human performers.

ps to compare this to kids going to school is ridiculous. Totally different

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louwra, you do not know anything about our animals .
1 you say they live in a trailer,
if you had been to see them you would see they were in a stable and a large padock.
2 boarded up to travel!!
they travel in a purpose built horse transporter
3 unnatural acts.
they walk around!!!!!!!!!!!!
they dont do any backflips!!!!!!

please look on your own doorstep for animal abuse.

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Yes for your info Cat (whatever your name may be)i am a paid up member of the CFA. I am guessing you could only know that if you are a member too! Given your views, why would you wish to be a member of a pro circus group?
I also work alongside several UK circuses, therefore i get to spend alot of time on shows, around staff, artistes and animals.
To Adam, maybe you should of gone to see Mondao before saying circuses uses ‘less than enthusiastic animals’in their performance. If any animal does not wish to do something, it cannot be made to do something. And any person that works with any kind of animal in any situation, does love and care for their animals. You could not do the job if you didnt love the animals. You get very attached very quickley. I know from first hand experience.
Anyone that works with animals in any captive environment will tell you, its the animals welfare that come first. Human welfare is way down the list.

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