this is horrible! re: the circus

smurfette2682

be sure to watch the video after reading the article!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/04/12/2010-04-12_a_circus_of_horrors_animal_torture_coverups_all_part_of_ringling_bros_show_says_.html 

Alisha_A

Dude, WTF?? Why is that guy just hitting the elephant?? It doesn't really look like its really hurting the elephant (the beginning of the video) but its still totally ***-ish behavior and indicative of the mindset. As is the guy talking smack to the elephant. WTF?!

I thought it was pretty commonly accepted that circuses aren't on the for animals list. I would never go to one.

Poor eles.

smurfette2682

i agree, i never thought that the circus would be great for the animals, but i also didn't realize it was as bad as it clearly is.  those elephants were just standing there, and the trainer was smacking them for no reason at all!  i hope they do get shut down...

CharlottesWeb

You all should check out the documentary Earthlings. It's not for the faint of heart, but it's very eye opening. It's free to watch....I think through their website if memory serves.

Poor elephants. They are my favorites. Dh and I were just having this conversation about how we will never take our kids to the circus.

toadstool

CharlottesWeb:

You all should check out the documentary Earthlings. It's not for the faint of heart, but it's very eye opening. It's free to watch....I think through their website if memory serves.

Poor elephants. They are my favorites. Dh and I were just having this conversation about how we will never take our kids to the circus.

Yeah, I think my Mom thinks I'm being silly because I tell her that whenever dh and I have kids I do not want her taking them to the circus. I just don't feel that it is something to support.

SuperGreen

DH and I just got into an arguement the other day about my protest of taking our not-yet-born children to the circus.  DH says I'm being too much of one of those "PETA people."  I'm like, "have you seen what they do to the animals?"  The stadium where the circus comes in Northern VA is part of my college, so every year a signficant portion of the parking lot I normally used would be closed for a few weeks to hold the circus animals.  They spend their entire lives in tiny little cages, the poor tigers can barely turn around.  And their straw bedding is always full of poop.  It's just cruel.  Why not take your children to the zoo instead?  They can still see the animals, and all the plaques in front of the enclosure talk about preserving their habitat or the steps the zoo is taking to prevent their extinction, like breeding pandas.  It's a win-win, and everyone gets exercise walking around rather than eating cotton candy and screaming at the poor elephants.  Or the county fair.  You can't see elephants, but our fair always had huge snakes, ostriches, and stuff like that.

Alisha_A

The circus is one of those things that when I see one, or hear people wanting to go to one, I'm surprised. I just consider it commonly agreed on that circuses support poor treatment of animals, and beyond that it just wouldn't be something I'd want to show my (theoretical) children. I don't think elephants and lions and such are around for our amusement and I think that circus acts depict a mindset I don't like.