Circus Animal Abuse

Most people have no idea how horribly animals are treated in the circus. Everyone loves the circus as a child, but they wouldn’t if they knew that the tigers and elephants were abused to get them to do the tricks that the kids love. Most circus animals spend 96% of their lives in cages or chained up. (PAWS. "Enjoy the Circus? The Animals Don't." Web Accessed March 14, 2015.) They are starved and abused to do things that are unnatural to their normal behavior. Tigers, like most animals, are instinctively afraid of fire, yet tigers and lions are forced to jump through hoops of fire and have been burned doing so. (Big Cat Rescue Corp. "Circus." Web Accessed March 14, 2015.) There is no positive reinforcement to train animals in the circus. Animals in the circus are constantly abused. Trainers use horrible tools such as: whips, chains, tight collars, hooks, muzzles and electric prods to get animals to perform. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "Circuses." Web Accessed March 14, 2015.) The animals are never comfortable in there environment. The only exercise the animal gets is when they have to train, and when they are performing. Being constantly mistreated and abused is not good for the animal’s mental health and wellbeing.

In some cases animals kill their handlers. Elephants are known to bolt away from their handler and run around in the street until they are caught and put back into their small confinement they are forced to call home. There are 35 cases recorded of elephants attacking and killing handlers since the year 2000. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "Circuses." Web Accessed March 14, 2015.) Not only is it not safe for the animals, but it is not safe for the handler to be around animals who are mentally unstable because of the treatment and stress they are put