Elephants at a Ringling Bros. Show
The circus came to town and with it came a storm of controversy. Zing Zang Zoom is the 139th edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and it rolled into town last Wednesday for a 5-day engagement in San Jose’s HP Pavilion.
Each day it was opened, it was met with protesters who carried signs protesting the abuse of the animals. They tried to persuade people to not attend the circus show.
Why all the fuss? Well, it used to be that the only worry then was you would run away and join the circus. Nowadays, the circus is embroiled in bigger worries. If you’ve watched any news media the past month, you may have seen a portion of the undercover video shot by PETA members of the treatment of elephants at the Ringling Bros. Circus.
The disturbing footage shows the elephants, costumed in the Ringling Bros. headdress, being whipped with metal-tipped bull hooks across their head, legs and body by their handlers. As for the circus, they remain firm that the footage was staged and defend their animal handling practices, maintaining that their animals are all in good health.
Ringling Bros. bills itself as the “greatest show on earth.” Just the idea of attending a circus show excites the hearts and minds of children of all ages, young and old. The animals, of course, were the biggest draws. In speaking with some of the attendees to the shows this past week, I found that some were troubled over the claims of animal abuse. It is difficult to reconcile the amusement and pleasure we derive from seeing the fantastic tricks the animals perform with the sadness over the less than humane treatment the PETA video shows of them. One can only hope that the video will lead to open dialog among the parties involved and that if an overhaul of current practices is needed, it will be undertaken. But in the end, the outcome will depend on the courts.
Closing arguments recently finished on the lawsuit brought against Ringling Bros. in Washington D.C. federal court and a ruling is expected soon. The lawsuit charged that the circus abuses its Asian elephants in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act. It cites abusive training methods, discipline, confinement of elephants, and the practice of separating the baby elephants from their mothers as the grounds for the mistreatment. Court documents connected to the Ringling Bros. animal abuse case can be viewed at: http://www.awionline.org/ht/d/sp/i/12076/pid/12076.
Whether the case will lead to a ban on the use of wild animals in circus performances is still debatable. But one thing is clear, cruel treatment of animals makes us all uneasy.
Below is the undercover video shot by PETA. Be warned, the video is graphic in nature and is not suitable for children.
Comments
That's terrible!
Graphic. I've not seen images, nor do I want to, but madness must be stopped.
Best line: "Well, it used to be that the only worry then was you would run away and join the circus."
Question: Where can one find the court documents for this case?
Thank you for bringing this topic into light. Few people ever know what occurs behind the circus arena and how cruelty of animals is a topic that needs to be investigated further. The circus seems like harmless fun, but being confined and whipped for personal amusement is not worth watching at the end.
I was totally in shocked when I saw the video. It is horrible! Eventhough the elephants were well behaved, they got whipped.
The elephants got whipped eventhough they were well behaved.
This reminds me of the local zoo in my hometown of Argentina. Very sad that animals get treated to this kind of cruelty at the expense of us paying a few pesos to get in. We laugh in the stands and drink jaritos, not knowing what really happens in the background. Thank you for bringing this out for all to see and opening our eyes to something we take for granted.
Finally, someone is willing to speak up about the elephant in the room! Ringling Bros. travel across the country to sold out performances. Unfortunately, people are still unaware that wild animals are abused behind the scenes to then perform for our amusement.
Its a sad situation that these beautiful animals are abused for profits. They should be set free and enjoy there lives in nature. We need to speak up for the animal rights because they can't speak for themselves!!!
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