Elephant Abuse In The Circus

Anthony Wiaduch

English 2

Decker-Doorn

15 September 2015

Elephant Abuse in the Circus “Stick that hook into ‘em… when you hear that screaming, then you know you got their attention.” – Circus elephant trainer caught on tape (Circus Animals). All across the world, animals used in circuses such as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey live a horrific life in which they are dominated, confined, and violently trained. They are routinely beaten, shocked, and whipped until they learn to perform tricks that make no sense to them. (Meet the Elephants). Many people are not aware of the harsh reality the elephants and other circus animals face just so circuses can make money. The way these circuses treat these animals that have been ripped from their homes

To learn these tricks, these methods are literally beaten into them mercilessly. The circus elephant trainers use a dreaded tool called a bull hook. It’s a malevolent – looking instrument, about 3ft long, with a sharp, metal point-and-hook combination at one end. The point is for pushing; the hook inserted in the mouth or at the top of the ear, is for pulling. Both are sharp enough to pierce elephant hide. (Nelson, Deborah). Elephants are beaten, poked, prodded, and jabbed with sharp hooks, sometimes until bloody (Ringling Brothers Circus) on the sensitive parts of their skin, head, feet, and all over their bodies to make them do ridiculous tricks and teach them to do them out of fear of being mistreated. After long hours of being “trained” new tricks, the elephants are kept with their feet chained down for long periods of time (Circus Animals), which doesn’t allow them to roam

There are many Animal-free-circuses that are just as fascinating to watch such as Circus Garden, Circus Millennia, and Circus Smirkus just to name a few. Because there are plenty of animal free circuses available to you, boycotting regular circuses will cause the circuses with animals to lose income which will hopefully lead to the eventual downfall to these types of circuses. Lastly, word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to get a message across. Now that you are educated on the subject, you have the ability to shine the light of this issue onto other people, hopefully this will lead to the end of this inhumane