When ask what comes to mind when you think of the circus, many people would respond that they think of people riding elephants, tigers jumping through hoops, and horses running around a ring with people standing on their backs. However, many people do not think of what happens after the show. They cannot picture the animals being trapped in cages or being tied up for hours at a time, even though they are. They do not realize that the animals are constantly on the move for nine months out of the year in small cages where they cannot lay down. People do cannot begin to imagine the suppression that these animals face on a day to day bases. This has to change though, legal regulations of animals as circus performers should change because they endure abuse and experience negative effects upon their instincts.

Many people argue that a circus without animals would not be a circus. For some people, like Dea Birkett, the circus is a fantasy dreamland. Birkett worked as a circus showgirl who rode on the backs of elephants for years. Birkett explains that circus performers are unfairly accused of abusing the animals that they work with. She claims that the elephants she worked with were often treated better than her. Birkett gives a full account about how happy the animals she worked with were and even states how much love there was between the animals and trainers. This is a unique case, the circus that Birkett worked with did not travel. While the animals had some room to roam it still is not the kind of space the animals would have if they were not in the circus. One of the major issues run into when researching the care the animals receive in the circus is the fact that it is never clear. In Birkett's article she explains that the elephants were put ahead of the workers but she never gives many examples to explain how. In another article, "Caring for Circus Animals Carson & Barnes Circus." Barbara Byrd explains how the circus that she works for cares for the animals. However, this article is very vague with little specifications. Byrd states, "Animal safety procedures and security are provided around the clock for the protection of our animals, our employees and our patrons". This statement is not clarified at any point in the article. The entire article is filled with claims of good treatment but no example or expansion on how this is executed. For example, many circuses claim that the animals are let out of their cages if they have been in the cage after a certain period of time. However, this just means that the animals are just relocated to being tied up outside another trailer. I do not see this as much of an improvement. This is the case with many articles, they state that it is a good home for the animals, but when people go in to see the animals and witness the training, you hear screams from monkeys and trumpets from elephants, often in pain. It is hard to believe such claims from a place that has never given proof of the good treatment that they say they have. 

There is never a guarantee that the animals in the circus would be treated well. There are many circuses out there and many are practicing different laws and regulations. There is no way for the authorities to check if these regulations are being followed for every circus. This makes the entire situation complicated. Since the authorities cannot always double check that the rules are being followed it falls on the audience to see injuries and unfair treatment towards the animals. This means that the audience would have to go to the police station and file a report on the circus. Many people would not do this, saying it is none of their business what the circus does with their animals and that it is too out of the way for the audience to bother with.  Even if the audience was willing to report mistreatment to the police the audience only sees the animals under flashing lights with bouncing colors all over the place. With these conditions it is impossible to see injuries, and the audience is so distracted by the tricks and lights they cannot see the crack of the whip or the swing of a bull hook let alone any injuries that have marked their skin.

A bull hook is a tradition tool used to train elephants. It is a stick with a curved metal hook at one end. In an article written by PETA, they explain how they have video evidence of animals screaming and running from a bull hook as they were being trained before a circus. This device is cruel and inhuman to use on defenseless animals. In addition to the cruel training, the animals are caged up beside performances and training sessions.  Corrine Henn in "How Life for a Circus Tiger Compares to the Life of a Wild Tiger" explains how this has negative effects on a tiger's natural instincts. Henn states that the tigers in the circus are kept in close capacity, unnatural compared to their natural habitat where they usually have miles to themselves. Wild tigers are not naturally a pack animal, being close to other tigers makes them aggressive, while the limited space makes them depressed. These emotions cause the animals to act unpredictably which can lead to incidents in the future causing the handlers harm. 

A documentary called "Tyke Elephant Outlaw" follows what harm causing animals emotional stress can lead to. In Honolulu, Hawaii Tyke was an elephant who escaped in the middle of a circus act after mauling her handler. She ran rampant through the streets till she was finally shot down by the police. This was the spark that lit a fire under the bed to ban animals from the circus. As Tyke finally stopped after being shot eighty-seven times. As Tyke lays on the ground bleeding out slowly and painfully, many people look on in horror. After this, the city of Honolulu tried to ban the performance of any circus that had animal performer after this. The law lost by one vote. However, no circus with animals has performed in Honolulu since this event. The circus just would not be supported by any audience in Honolulu. This story gets sadder as you learn that Tyke was captured at a young age to perform in the circus. You learn that she had lashed out to her handlers before the incident in Honolulu, and these handlers had advised the man who was last in charge of Tyke to not use her. His decision to use her in her final performance, cost him his life. This incident shows that animals are not put first when performing a show. 

Another example of this mistreatment can be seen in the article "The Cruelest Show on Earth".  This article explains how a young Asian elephant's health was put on the back burner in order to perform the show. This elephant, named Kenny, was clearly listless as the article states. He had avoided his food and water enough to cause concern. By federal regulation, sick elephants have to receive medical and veterinarian's consent before performing. However, this did not happen and by the afternoon show Kenny could hardly stand on his feet and had bloody diarrhea. After this performance, Kenny saw a vet who suggest he sit out the evening show. This did not happen. Less than two hours after the evening show, Kenny was found dead, shackled in his stall later that night. Not only was a majestic animal's life sacrificed for a silly show but his last hours were spent shackled alone. 

Bears, tigers, elephants, horses, and all the way down to the dogs running on and off rams, these are majestic animals that we are using purely for entertainment. They deserve our respect, our love, and our protection. Many of these animals are being threatened in their natural environment. These animals that we think of when we think of the circus are becoming more and more rare in their natural environments to the point that there are only a few thousand tigers left in their natural environments (Henn, ppt 11). We should protect them and their natural environment. Tigers are being hunted to become rugs, while some are just hunted for the sake of saying they killed a tiger. Elephants are being hunted for their horns so that the hunters can sell them for ivory. Even though the buying and selling of ivory is illegal, the trade is still going on in the black market. Bears are being hunted for their fur and even worse, just hunted for sport. There are thousands of horses sent to the slaughterhouse every year. Stray dogs are killed in a dog killing festivals in Asia. Is this how we want to remember ourselves? That we killed off another species for sport or because we just could not care for them. Instead of paying for tickets to see these animals humiliated with silly hats and tricks, we should donate to efforts protecting these animals. These animals deserve a better life, not in cages or being killed for sport. 

When animals are captured or if an animal is bred in captivity, they cannot be released into the wild. This means that we should immediately stop the capturing of animals. Animals that are already captured or have been bred in captivity deserve a chance to live a life similar to the one they would have in the wild. We already have so many animals who should be in the wild instead are in captivity. The author of "Beast Under The Big Top" states that the ban of animals in the circus is creating a pressure on sanctuaries and zoo to give these animals a home. That is the smartest idea though, animals that are currently in the circus could be relocated into zoo and animal sanctuaries. "Beast Under The Big Top" discusses how animals being taken from the circus need to rehabilitated. The author talks about how this is a long, expensive process that means that the caregivers have to be dedicated individuals who really care about the animals. This article contains quotes from sanctuary caregivers who discus that even though this is a long expensive process, it is worth it to give these animals the life they deserve.  

Not only is it dangerous for the animals to remain in the circus, but the trainers and workers in the circus can be harmed as well. As previously discussed, in "Tyke Elephant Outlaw" the elephant, Tyke, ended up killing her trainer during the circus performance. The elephant handler was also attacked but only sustained minor injuries before Tyke ran off to the streets. After escaping, Tyke caused damage on the streets, mostly to vehicles, no other humans were harmed. As stated in the documentary by several people, it seemed as though Tyke was targeting both her trainer and her handler. Tyke wanted to hurt these people. Animals in captivity can hold grudges and can carry out these grudges if given the opportunity. In addition, according to Henn, the author of "How Life for a Circus Tiger Compares to the Life of a Wild Tiger.", tigers are force to interact with each other during circus performance. This leads to aggression between tigers, especially males, which can lead to harm for the tiger trainer. The report states that an estimated there are around nine fatal and one and three fourths fatal interactions between tigers every year. If these tigers were in the wild or given the space they need, this would not be a problem and there would be no unnecessary deaths.

All this death and destruction could be avoided if we did not choose to mistreat these powerful animals. Susan Nance discusses how we see elephants specifically as such a loveable and kind animal but we see it as a powerful creature in a different situations. In "Entertaining Elephants: Animal Agency and the Business of the American Circus" Nance talks about how we have such contradicting views of the elephant. This makes a situations, such as the circus, much more dangerous. We see them as kind and caring when they are in the circus performing tricks, yet they are two tons of power waiting to burst. This may be an exaggeration, but this is a pressing problem, we choose to see wild animals as our friends and this thought process can lead to harm for people as well as the animals themselves.

One thing many people do not realize is that it is financially smarter to not include animals in the circus. Take for example Cirque Du Soleil, this is a reinvented version of the circus that does not use animals. Cirque Du Soleil hires people to amaze and excite the audience. In the article "This Is How Cirque Du Soleil Reinvented the Circus." the authors discus how Cirque Du Soleil took the clowns, tent, and acrobatics of a traditional circus and turned it around to create something that could surpass the most traditional of circuses in just a matter of years. Cirque Du Soleil turned the circus into a more sophisticated place where not just the kids can enjoy the entertainment but the parents can as well. One of the things that makes Cirque Du Soleil so popular is their dramatic shows with lights and amazing action scenes that put their acrobat's talents in the light. A traditional circus relies on animals to impress, but after a few shows it becomes predictable and very washed out because you already know what to expect. With Cirque Du Soleil, the audience does not know what to expect. With animals cut from the equations, Cirque Du Soleil has a massive budget that allows them to do entire shows under the water. Traditional circuses spend the majority of their budget on the animals housing and food. If the animals were cut from the equations, circuses would have more room in the budget to entice their audience and improve their show. The point is, the circus would not disappear if the animals were cut from the situation. If anything the circuses would be able to expand their audience to older ages and create a classier show, such as the one that Cirque Du Soleil processes. 

 While the circus may seem like a dream for people like Dea Birkett, it is a nightmare for the animals who are involved in it. There needs to be a change in the way we see animals. We should not see them as a source of amusement for ourselves and we should definitely not see and animal like elephants or tigers as pets. These animals are intelligent and require space to roam and be free. They deserve a chance to create their own families and live in a heard if they wish or to have miles to themselves if they chose to. Animals should be banned from circus acts. The circus will live on, but it will have to evolve with its audience. The animals will be relocated to sanctuaries and zoos to be rehabilitated and live out a life closer to the one they would have in the wild. Let's stop the capturing of animals and start to protect them in their natural environments. Animals can live peacefully with us, we do not have to control and cage them for our amusement.

