Do you have memories of going to the circus as a child? If so, they’re probably happy recollections of watching amazing performances under the big top.
Today circuses evoke more complicated feelings because we know the truth about how circus animals live, and how trainers get them to perform circus tricks.
The closure of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus has not meant an end to these practices because some smaller circuses using wild animals continue to perform.
One of them is UniverSoul Circus, currently performing at Security Square Mall in Baltimore County.
UniverSoul leases animals from many exhibitors repeatedly cited for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. That’s a real concern. But there’s an even bigger and more basic issue here.
These creatures perform out of fear, dominated by trainers using pain-inducing tools like bull-hooks, and whips.
When not performing or training, they live chained or confined in small cages, sometimes only big enough for them to stand and turn around.
Nicole Paquette, of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) says, “We know the horrible life these animals lead due to the constant confinement and the abusive training they’re forced to endure… Circuses have earned a reputation as the cruelest show on earth.”
The HSUS has long advocated for policy changes to protect these animals, and there’s been some success.
Two states and 130 municipalities in the U.S. have either outlawed circuses that use wild animals or have prohibited the use of training tools like bull-hooks.
These include the states of California and Rhode Island, and communities as diverse as Jersey City, New Jersey, Spokane, Washington, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Richmond, Virginia, Austin, Texas, Ames, Iowa, Louisville, Kentucky and Biloxi, Mississippi.
It’s time for Maryland cities and counties to join this group of forward-thinking communities.
On June 5, several people will speak to members of the Baltimore County Council to urge them to make Baltimore County the first to pass an ordinance prohibiting performances by circuses using wild animals.
This idea may be hard to swallow, particularly if you have fond memories of the circus, and now enjoy taking your kids and grandkids. But ask yourself, would you feel comfortable taking your children behind the curtain to see animals cowering in fear and reacting in pain as trainers wield bull-hooks, whips, and prods?
Would you be able to tell them it’s OK to force animals to perform behaviors that are completely unnatural for them, just so humans can be entertained?
This is not about closing circuses…just about ending wild animal acts. Some circuses rely solely on human performers and remain profitable.
Animals cannot speak for themselves. It’s our duty to protect them.
Human entertainment does not outweigh the wellbeing of innocent, living creatures.
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