Running Head: CIRCUS CRUELTY 1

Circus Cruelty: A Review of Literature

Jacqueline Fuentes

University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1302

Ashok Bhusal
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Abstract

Animals in captivity has been a big issue for many years all over the United States.

Although it is a big issue, people tend to forget. Animals in captivity vary in different types of

captivity. For example, a well-known type of captivity for animals is a zoo and aquariums such

as Sea World. The annual revenue for zoo and aquariums in the United States is roughly

$5,000,000,000 and around 175,000,000 people attend the zoo every year. Because of this, zoos

and aquariums are able to continue to run and put animal species in danger and lead them to a

miserable, short life. Amongst the many zoos and aquariums that there is all over the United

States, there is also circuses that keep animals in captivity. Not only do circuses keep animals

such as elephants and tigers in captivity, but they mistreat the animals in order to get them to do

tricks that are out of their norms for the entertainment of circus attendees. The purpose of this

literary review is to look further into the tactics that are used on the animals to train them, the

laws put in to protect these animals, and to see how the “circus life” has an impact on the

animals.
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Circus Cruelty: A Review of Literature

A circus is a traveling company that includes acrobats, clowns that provide us with

laughs, trained animals, and magicians that don’t fail to amaze circus attendees to name a few. It

can be enjoyed by people of all ages, typically children that attend these shows with their

families. The circus came into existence in the 1700’s by an English man by the name of Philip

Astley. Astley started circuses in their own buildings all over Europe, 19 amphitheaters to be

exact, but it wasn’t until 1825 that he decided to make circuses a traveling company and

converted the amphitheaters to the tents that we now see in present day. The first animal that was

used in the circus was horses. The reason behind horses being the first circus animals is because

at the age of seventeen, Astley joined a cavalry, also known as the “Kings Light Dragoons” and

eventually became a sergeant major. Of course, in cavalry, their means of transportation and

combat was horse riding. After Astley left the cavalry, he realized his true passion was trick

riding. This is when he decided to begin trick riding horses as a means of entertainment in

London where people were amazed with his act. “Astley’s Amphitheatre of Equestrian Arts” was

born. He eventually began to add clowns, jugglers and tightrope walkers to add more of a wow-

factor to his performances and captivate the audience’s attention. After time, more wild, exotic

animals, such as tigers, elephants, and camels began to make an appearance in the shows as well.

Although many people picture the circus to be a family-friendly, fun atmosphere, there is

a lot that the circus and the circus crew hides behind the curtains. Because these animals that are

used in the circus shows are wild and exotic, cruel tactics are used to train them into doing the

tricks that we see on stage. Three questions that have been in the spotlight about circus animals

are as follows:

1.) What techniques are used to train the animals?

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2.) Are there any laws that protect these animals?

3.) How does the captivity of animals in the circus affect the public?

The three previous questions will help us on our deep search for the answers that many have

been asking and the treatment of their animals.

What techniques are used to train the animals?

The techniques that are used on the animals to train them varies from animal to animal

and depends on the trick that they are going to perform. Unfortunately, because animals do not

naturally do many of the tricks that are asked of them at the circus such as standing on their

heads, balancing on balls, or jumping through rings of fire in their natural habitat, trainers use a

lot of inhumane tactics to get the desired trick done. For example, lion taming is a term used to

describe the training of a lion. A lion tamer shows the lion, cougar, or tiger to jump through rings

of fire. Because these wild cats do not jump through rings of fire out in the wild on a day to day

basis, they do not perform this act by instinct or voluntarily. They deny to perform the act until

pain is involved in the training process. Lion tamers are known to carry whips in their acts. The

whips are used as to teach animals to fear it. They are also taught to associate bad behavior such

as disobedience or aggression with punishment. So, if the cat were to growl or hiss at the tamer,

showing any kind of anger, the tamer would react with a hit of the whip (which is extremely

painful) and this would of course make the cat stop growling/hissing or jump through the ring of

fire because they want to avoid getting hit again. Bullhooks used on elephants have the same

concept. They are used to teaches elephants to fear the bullhook in order to get the elephant to

perform a specific trick. The elephant will perform the trick, such as balancing themselves on a

small stool, to avoid being stabbed on their sensitive flesh by the bullhook. Not all circuses have

the same animals. Some circuses have bear cubs that perform tricks such as standing on their
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hind legs. Bears do not stand on their hind legs naturally so trainers need to train them to do so.

This is done by chaining the bear cubs upright by their necks. Although this is difficult for the

cubs to do, they learn that if they attempt to go down on their four paws, they will choke

themselves to death. Not only are objects used to train animals, but also intimidation of the

trainees, violence and starvation are used to get the required tricks such as standing on their hind

legs, on their front paws, balancing themselves on balls or jumping over objects.

Are there any laws that protect these animals?

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) was signed into law in 1966. This law is the only law in the

United States that regulates and has a set of rules on how animals in research, exhibition,

transport, and in profit are treated. Although there is a set of laws in place for the circus animals,

these laws are not very specific and have very low standards. It is said that the Animal Welfare

Act is not a “anti-cruelty” act. Because the inspectors and enforcers of this law are very minimal

and overworked, not all circus animals are treated and taken care of as they should be. When

inspectors visit a circus, they are taught to look at the unloading process, for signs of physical

abuse, abnormal behaviors of the animals, their foot care, see if the animals suffer from any

illness or poor hygiene, their environmental conditions, and contagious tuberculosis which is

well known in elephants. When and if a circus is caught violating one of the laws regulations,

they are given a simple fine. Even if this act is “strict” on the caretaking of the animals and

requires recordkeeping of the incidents that occur, if the law is not heavily enforced, the animals

are going to continue to be treated in such a cruel way as they are right now. The law is letting

these big circuses get away with the mistreatment of these animals and if they do not put a stop

to it, it will only get worse. There have been many reports filed with the United States

Department of Agriculture (USDA) about the mistreatment of animals; circus animals

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specifically. Organizations like “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,” most commonly

known as PETA, have spoken out about the animal cruelty that these wild animals experience

everyday through the circus. One of the reports filed was on March 27, 2013 by PETA when a

Nassau Coliseum (located in Uniondale, New York) employee reported seeing a Ringling Bros.

and Barnum & Bailey handler repeatedly strike an elephant with a bullhook while cussing at the

animal. The handler was also seen putting the sharp end of the bullhook into the elephant’s

mouth, yanking at it and causing extreme pain to the elephant which made loud crying noises in

pain and distress. This is one of the many reports that have been filed against circuses such as the

Ringling Bros. Circus since 1990. This specific circus has been reported over 150 times for the

mistreatment of their animals and critical diseases such as tuberculosis and arthritis.

Figure 1 – The circuses with the most accidents between 1860s – 1990s

Source: Gregoria, V. (2012, October 20). Study of circus accidents with animals. Retrieved from

https://historyofcircusanimalaccidentsinaustralia.wordpress.com/history-of-circus-accidents-

with-animals-in-australia/
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How does the captivity of animals in the circus affect the public?

Using exotic, wild animals in these performances also puts the public, specifically the

children in jeopardy and at a great risk of death. Not only the public, but especially the

employees themselves and has resulted in deaths. In Figure 2, down below, it shows how you

can split the types of accidents/deaths into seven different categories. An incident where an

employee was injured by an animal was in 1911 when a Wirth Brother’s employee was

grooming a pony when an elephant charged at him, caught the employee with his tusk and tore

his flesh down from his neck to his chest. A patron is another word for one of the circus

attendees. Many of the accidents that happen involving a patron is from standing too close to a

caged animal. In 1941, a patron was injured by two lions that reached out of their cage with their

paws and dragged the person inside. On another occasion, a little girl was attacked by a monkey

that was successful in escaping his circus cage and suffered injuries to her arm and face. As

shown in the chart below, it is not unusual for a patron/other to be injured or killed by the circus

animals whatsoever.

Figure 2 – The types of circus accidents with animals between 1860s and 1990s
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Source: Gregoria, V. (2012, October 20). Study of circus accidents with animals. Retrieved from

https://historyofcircusanimalaccidentsinaustralia.wordpress.com/history-of-circus-accidents-

with-animals-in-australia/

Conclusion/Synthesis

In conclusion, animals in captivity such as in zoos, aquariums, and circuses, go through a

lot of pain and suffering. This pain and suffering happens because of the desire to attract sales

and make profit off of the showcase of the animals. Little do the attendees know that these

animals are put through heartbreaking training and awful tactics. This literature review has given

us a more insightful view on what these animals are put through and has given us true occurring

events that happened due to the existence of circuses. A few ways that people can help put a stop

to the abuse of circus animals is to stop attending the circus when it comes into town. Believe it

or not, but the sales from the purchase of tickets is what keeps the circus running. If people do

not buy tickets for the circus, there will be no money to keep the circus operating and they will

have to close down. This does not mean that that puts an end to the wonders of a circus

completely. You can attend an animal-free circus such as Cirque Du Soleil.

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References

Brain, S. (2017, November 10). Zoo Statistics. Retrieved from

https://www.statisticbrain.com/zoo-statistics/

International, C. W. (n.d.). Don't Circuses Love Their Animals? Retrieved from

https://www.circusprotest.com/circus-cruelty

T. (2017, December 06). Who was Philip Astley? Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6diQz3tNwc

PETA. (n.d.). Circuses. Retrieved from https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-

entertainment/circuses/

P. (n.d.). Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Retrieved from

https://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/RinglingFactsheet.pdf

PETA. (n.d.). 10 Reasons Not to Attend an Animal Circus. Retrieved from

https://www.peta.org/features/10-reasons-attend-circus/