In the year 2016, many issues across the world are being recognized and solved. Normalized animal cruelty has been an issue for hundreds of years and still continues to be an issue today. I believe that individuals recognize that animal abuse is a problem, but continue to do nothing about it because they like to go to the circus, or Sea World, or the zoo. This leads to a bigger issue: Do people really care? Are people too selfish to care? A personal poll has proven that many Americans are also very uneducated about the subject of normalized animal abuse. Normalized animal abuse is a growing issue in the United States and all over the world, and in order for this abuse to stop, we must be educated in the negative effects of this abuse on animals.

The origin of the modern circus can be attributed to Philip Astley, a cavalry officer from England who set up the first circus to display horse riding tricks on April 4, 1768 (SHORT HISTORY OF THE CIRCUS). Astley is known as the Father of the Modern Circus. The circus has since turned into something that Astley would be ashamed of. Although Circus animals have the right to be protected and treated humanely under the Animal Welfare Act, this abuse is still very apparent. For example, tigers fear fire by nature, but are still forced to jump through hoops and in some shows, these tigers have been burned while doing so (11 Facts About Circus Animal Abuse). Why do we permit this? Because it's entertaining? Circuses are constantly being given citations by the USDA under the Animal Welfare Act because they have trailers with splintering wood and sharp, metal pieces sticking out near animals' cages (11 Facts About Circus Animal Abuse). Is this how we respect entertainers? The most shocking is that virtually 96% of a circus animal's life is spent in chains or cages (11 Facts About Circus Animal Abuse). If you think about that, 4% is spent performing, or being trained.  11 months a year these animals travel in box cars that have no air conditioning, low amounts of food, and they are often left to defecate in the cages they spend most of their time in. These circus animals have become so distressed, that they harm other people. Sound familiar? Tilikum is the largest Orca ever held in captivity, weighing over 12,500 pounds and 22 feet long. Tilikum was captured and transferred to Seaworld to perform tricks for many crowds. On February 21, 1991, Sealand trainer Dawn Brancheau was pulled into the pool by Tilikum, who pulled her to the bottom of the enclosure and tossed her around until she drowned and was dismembered (I Trained Killer Whales at SeaWorld for 12 Years. Here's Why I Quit). Her death was caused by Tilikum's stress, confinement, and frustration (Over 30 Years and Three Deaths: Tilikum's Tragic Story). Tilikum was then sold. As of March 2016, Tilikum is now fighting for his life due to a bacterial infection. There is only so much time before this infection takes his life, presumably wasted entirely in captivity. 

Ever since John Hargrove was 6 years old, he dreamed of working with killer whales (I Trained Killer Whales at SeaWorld for 12 Years. Here's Why I Quit).  He believed they were magnificent, intelligent, and sentient beings. At the age of 20, Hargove's dream came true: he was hired by SeaWorld. Hargrove worked and performed with 20 different whales, including the riskier ones. He believes he formed very good relationships with these beautiful animals. On August 17, 2013, he quit. Hargove claims to have been happy at SeaWorld, accomplishing his dreams, his passions, as well as conquering some of his biggest fears. The more he saw each day he went to work, the more he was haunted. He began to realize that these beautiful creatures were being exploited for money and being disguised as education, or conservation. Hargrove didn't realize he, too, was being exploited until years later and after the deaths of two of his closest colleagues.  He was lied to by his superiors, like being told the artificial insemination they were performing was good and that they would achieve something groundbreaking. This insemination created hybrid whales that do not exist in the natural world. Inbreeding was also a frequent thing at SeaWorld. To make things worse, SeaWorld also separated mothers from their calves. Separation, especially for these whales, does not happen in the wild. Orca families stay together for their whole lives. Hargrove writes about witnessing the physical and emotional tolls on these Orcas. The whales would bite onto the steel gates, causing them to break their teeth or lose them completely. The whales would float completely still for hours because they would be so bored.  Most orcas swim up to 100 miles a day in the ocean. According to seaworldofhurt.com, the in-captivity orcas would have to swim 1,208 laps around the tank to equal what they would swim in the wild. Hargrove writes about how enormous amounts of drugs would be given to the Orcas to treat anything from infections to epilepsy. The average lifespan of a whale in the wild is 50 to 80 years. Whales in captivity barely make it to their teens. After the deaths of his two colleagues who were also his close friends, Seaworld blamed them for their own death. One of the trainers who was killed, Martinez, was said by SeaWorld to have drowned because he was inexperienced. His autopsy report states otherwise. He had been crushed. His chest exploded and he also had massive internal injuries. When he was pulled from the pool, he had blood coming from his ears, his nose, and his mouth, which showed how bad his injuries actually were.

Seaworld, located in Orlando, Florida, has been facing opposition from many animal rights activists like PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, after a critically acclaimed documentary called "Blackfish", the story of Tilikum, was released to the public in July of 2013. This documentary was made to prove that animals cannot be happy in captivity and compared the beauty of these beautiful orcas in their natural habitat to the clearly unhappy orcas stuck in captivity at Seaworld. This documentary also depicts the inhumane living circumstances of the Orca whales at Sea World as well as the incidents that have happened there, including the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau. This documentary has been known as "the documentary that exposes SeaWorld." Since the documentary, SeaWorld's stock has plummeted. The park announced this drop is because of the negative publicity on behalf of the documentary that has been on Netflix for anyone to watch. Attendance to SeaWorld exhibits in both Florida and California have also dropped drastically. Many controversies have sparked since this documentary. 

Blackfish has not only helped whales at SeaWorld, but also circus animals, specifically elephants. Ringling Bros announced that it would no longer tour with elephants. According to Lisa Lange, Vice President of PETA, change is already happening all around the globe. "What we're seeing is the 'Blackfish' effect," said Lange, referring to the powerful documentary released in 2013, "The public has also changed its opinion on exploiting and killing animals for entertainment" (After SeaWorld, a 'Blackfish effect' on Zoos and Circuses?). Mexico has since banned animal circuses, a number of cities in Spain have banned bullfighting, and cities in the US have banned the use of the bullhook which is used to train elephants.  Ringling Bro's circus has sparked much controversy over the years. Elephants are very peaceful animals meant to live in herds in the wild. Baby elephants are born being protected and taught by their parents and herds. These baby elephants are captured and sent to Ringling Bros circus. There, they are tied by ropes and slammed onto the ground. They are forced to perform tricks like up, down, sit, and trunk up. This training goes on and on. When these elephants mess up, they are whipped. Their skin gets torn. These animals eventually grown tired of fighting this abuse. In train cars, elephants would have to stand for days in their own waste. After each and every show, these elephants again get chained and forced onto the trains. This abuse happens for years. Karen and approximately 14 other elephants are suffering in Ringling Bros. shows right now. The best way to help these elephants is by refusing to go see them at the Circus. According to Peta.org, These elephants become so thin that you can see their hips and shoulder blades. Nina, an elephant who was taken to Circus World for performances and rides had lost 500 pounds in just a few months. Her weight had been declining for more than a year. Nina died in May of 2015. Carson & Barnes' head elephant trainer, Tim Frisco, was caught on tape attacking screaming elephants with a bullhook and also shocking them with electric prods. In the video, Frisco can be heard saying "Sink the bullhook into the animals' flesh and twist it until they scream in pain" (Urge Circus World to End Cruel Elephant Exhibits!)! Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Barnum and Bailey circus have promised to eliminate their elephant acts by May of 2015, at which point they plan to keep the elephants at a Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida. In an in depth analysis of the CEC, it was found that these animals still spend their lives in chains. Elephants at the facility are routinely chained for up to 24 hours a day on the concrete floors. It was observed that elephants spent so much time being chained that they had made grooves in the concrete floor. If Ringling is serious about doing what is best for these elephants, it should immediately stop using these elephants for entertainment and send them to an accredited sanctuary (What's Ringling Really Up to at Its 'Conservation Center'?). 

A poll conducted by Grace Allen on Facebook asked a simple question after explaining the abuse that very well happens at zoos, circuses, and other places: "Would knowing this abuse happens at some of these places prevent you from attending?" 11 out of 62 of the responses were "No." Most of the responses were "What some people see as abuse, others may not." The 51 other answers were "Yes." Although I do believe all the individuals that answered yes felt educated, many of them proved to be very uneducated on the subject with just a small sentence of their opinion. "I feel like a lot of those animals are being taken out of an environment where they would get eaten so it's safer for them," was one of responses to this poll. This is a frequent belief amongst many people; what they do not understand is that in the wild, there is a food chain, and when there is a mistake in the food chain, this could lead to the extinction of important animals in the wild. Another no answer really made sense, which is another reason this subject can be so controversial. "Zoos and Aquariums hold a lot of value concerning education (class field trips, marine bio/zoology internships, etc.)" The more educated people are on this subject, the more they will be willing to make a change.

Zoos are also a main concern for many animal activists today. Although the environments these animals are placed in are seemingly enjoyable, comfortable, and familiar to these animals according to the visitors of the zoo, these animals are suffering deeply. These animals are put in small, uncomfortable places that do not have the same climate as where they belong. This leads to many problems for the animals. According to PETA, The Humboldt penguins at Scarborough Sea Life center had to be prescribed antidepressants because of their unhappiness. A two-year-old giraffe was killed and fed to lions because he was deemed "not useful." How is this humane? Some animals are so unhappy that they risk their lives in desperate attempts to get out of the zoo (The Reality of Zoos). A gorilla named Jabari was shot and killed after trying to escape by jumping over the walls of his enclosure in an "award-winning" exhibit at the Dallas Zoo. These instances are what we have tranquilizer guns for. There is no reason an animal should be shot and killed because it escaped when there are more humane ways to get the animal under control and back where it should be. Is the zoo where it really belongs? The answer is no. Although their habitats are mimicked at the zoo, these animals will never feel as free as they would in the wild. From 2006 to 2009, Dickerson Park Zoo handed over many giraffes, zebras, kangaroos, wallabies, and antelopes to questionable buyers. New Jersey's Cape May Country Zoo sold two giraffes to an animal broker who after that sold them to an animal circus (13 Times Zoos Were Bad for Animals). Do these zoos really care about their animals? These animals are exploited for the public's entertainment. How would a human like it if someone made a knock-off version of just their bedroom, not their whole house, and made them live, eat, and go to the bathroom in it? This is reality for animals in confinement. Confinement leads to many psychological and health issues. These animals in zoos are not properly fed due to the fact that they are meant to be in the wild where they fight for their own food; what is meant for their bodies. Captive animals are deprived of everything important and natural to them. They get extremely bored and lonely. Elephants typically walk up to 30 miles in one day, but Lucy the only elephant at the Edmonton Zoo is locked inside a barn during the winter and when the zoo is closed without much room at all to move. Because of this, Lucy has developed arthritis (The Reality of Zoos).  Most visitors to the zoo only spend about a minute at each display, but while they observe the animals, they don't gain much understanding of them. Traveling and roadside zoos are even worse. Like the circus, animals are kept in empty cages with nothing but a tire or log to stimulate their minds and entertain them. People have died from contracting diseases from petting zoos. 

Since the start of the modern circus, animal treatment everywhere has deteriorated. It is no longer about the animal in their natural habitat, or the animal being happy. It is now about money. The welfare of the animals is no longer being cared for unless it is "just to get by." With a better knowledge of the abuse of these animals by the people, we together can stop this normalized animal abuse that is present in zoos, circuses, and Seaworld.

