should elephants be banned?

I have never like the circus and have always felt they were cruel and inhumane

I know I have heard that the animals are well cared for but I honestly don't approve.

I never went to the circus,,, I could never see animals caged or forced to act as people want them to act,,,

I honestly don't know how do they keep them, whether they take care of them or not. I will keep myself bias in this case unless I will see it myself. I, myself, usually don't go to circus much but if my daughter will ask me then I will definitely take her there at least once.

it's a tough call but I think as long as they are being well cared for that it may be safer for them at the circus than being poached for their tusks in the jungle.

The only circus I've ever gone to did not have animals. It was all human entertainment which is the way I believe it should be!

yes they should be removed from circuses!, we had a circus at our local fair, the animals looked extremely sad, and the ring master let people come from the stands and get close to the animals when he told them not to, He should have steped up and told people the show would stop until everyone returned to their seats. But he didnt, So the animals at that point became a danger to the stupid people that were dumb enough to take their small kids close to the cages during the act! And it could have ended up also cause harm to the animals if they would have hurt one of the kids they would have probally put the poor thing down.

I honestly don't know
Much would depend on the organization and eforcement of animal misuse laws in each city they visit.

This is a good question. I'm not sure what the minimal is for these animals to be considered treated humanely.
I'm going to have to think on this and do some research now.

I have been to the circus. It always came to town at the end of July. My birthday is at the end of July, so I had to go. Had to be taken, actually. When I was a kid, they were fun, and funny, and exciting. I stopped going to the circus when I was old enough to say, "No, thank you". I even wonder about some zoos. I don't go to zoos anymore either, but I watch Animal Planet. So does our cat :)

I got a chance to ride a circus elephant once, she was contented, and calm despite a fair sized crowd. But that does not mean she was being well treated. It is a tough question. I agree that abuse of animals is awful. circus animals are generally well cared for, they are a big investment, and they also draw people to the shows. We can't ask them what they think, and for many people the only time they will see an exotic animal is in a circus. Regulating the circus out of existence does not sit well with me. Neither does abuse of animals, but if circus use of elephants is going to help keep elephants from vanishing all together, I would say let it continue, make sure the animals are not treated abusively, and that they are cared for. And let the show go on.

Being always on the political, Peter, I really thought this was going to be about getting rid of the GOP....now that's an idea whose time has come.

Peter,

First, I don't have any problems with animals being used, alive, for the entertainment of people. Elephants who don't like the situation have been known to go berserk and they are rather hard to deal with then.

Second, I'd like to say that I have a lot of things to worry about and this one doesn't even make it into the top one hundred! If animals are bing mistreated, starved, beaten, etc. that is a matter for law enforcement. If not, they are really not my business.

Karl, I didn't realise the irony. ha ha

James, some people care about circus animals - there's even groups out there about it. If you don't care then I hope you at least gave me TEN POINTS - ha ha!!!

I did not get to go to a circus when I was a child but I wanted to. When I took my children once I was not thrilled and worried about the bleachers so we left. They collapsed the next day and people got hurt. I think if you want to see animals, go to the zoo. Many zoo's are more humane and give the animals a natural environment. I really believe animals belong in the wild as much as the zoo may be fun to everyone. An interesting thought is how people tolerate rides in over crowded subways and yet do not understand that this is how it is for these animals on a regular basis.
Good article! Thanks

I've never even bothered to think about it. Honestly, there are better problems to worry about. How about the aids epidemic in Africa? The 130,000 orphans in Haiti? God, even forced abortions in China. An elphant has to preform, boo freaking hoo.
I did give you a 10 though, Peter. ;)

They kill elephants every day for their ivory. Make tables out of their feet. The elephants in the circus may in some ways be better off. I don't really know.

I have seen several circuses in my life and for the most part, the way they keep the animals is atrocious. Huge wild animals in cages forced to be submissive through abuse. And then when you hear about a rogue elephant who has had enough and goes on a rampage, what happens? It gets shot. I think it is a sad state of affairs personally.

Yay I still got ten points!

You can tell about the humanity of a civilization by they way it treats its animals. I have never seen on any footage of an elephant doing that stand in the wild. I doubt it "volunteered' to do it.

I do disagree with Lacey in regards to the fact we have bigger things to worry about boo hoo for the elephants. Yes it's true that there are terrible things like Drafur, and yes it's important that we are involved and do something about that, but it is also important that we take care of the animals that are on this earth. I don't want to leave a planet where future children can only read about exotic animals in books or in abused cages. We can't justcompletey disregard one thing because there are many other important matters and crisis' out there.

Peter,

I just went back and gave you a ten! I don't think that the elephants are "abused" to get them to preform. I think they are trained. And many animals of the higher intelligence, are genuine "hams" and enjoy the attention and applause.

Frankly, I enjoy seeing skilled animals perform. It might be a dog trained in cattle handling, a quarter mile away and responding to motion signals to move the cattle. It might be a horse performing for a crowd. How about an otter performing for a crowd?

I don't go to circuses and haven't for years but the ones I've seen took a lot of pride in their care of the animals. A lot of children are treated much more purely than are the circus animals. They need their animals in order to make a living.

If someone is looking for a cause there are children being raised in abominable circumstances. There are adults who are going hungry and without needed medical care. There are places where true animal abuse is taking place as we speak! All these are worthy causes. Like I said, the fact that animals perform in a circus comes way, way down on my list of priorities.

While society may be judged on their treatment of animals, the first thing civilization judges by is the treatment of the elderly, the sick, the disabled and the handicapped and we've got a long way to go on these! Many pets in this country are pampered and loved and treated much better than many children.

Heather, I don't believe we are disregarding anything as far as performing animals are concerned because, from what I've seen, most performing animals enjoy what they do! If I did not sincerely believe that I might have to take a difference.

Now Peter, Karl makes a very good point, should we eliminate Republicans?

I always give you 10 points, Peter. Even when we disagree. I enjoy seeing things from other persepctives. Sorry my posts have been a bit edgy tonight. Bad day...

If you outlaw elephants from circuses how are they gonna earn their keep - everything has a price. You can not turn elephants back to the wild, there is nowhere for the wild elephants as it is.......Circus elephants are dependent on humans to provide fodder for them and I understand it takes a lot.
I do believe circus (and zoo) animals in general should be monitored closely for their health and welfare needs.

I don't like zoos either.

Yes. There is nothing humane about the treatment they receive, nor the living conditions they live under. There is nothing humane about being trained with sticks, or hobbling, or electric prods. It's no wonder you see a circus elephant go on a rampage and wind up either being killed or killing people.

These magnificent animals could humanely kept in Safari parks, as they are now. They are free to roam large areas.

I have refused to attend any type of circus for many years. This includes my grandchildren. My 15 year old granddaughter joined Peta on her own initiative, and plans to become a Veterinarian.

Lacey - Edgy? I thought everybody was very behaved.

And a few "boo whah hoos" in there are not exactly swearing up a blue streak.

For some reason I'm not as worried about Elephants doing tricks (they are super intelligent and might just LOVE the applause, for all I know) - but I don't know. I'm not an expert. I wrote a carnival novel (will be out in a few years - slow pipeline) and my elephant in that story was very well cared for, and ends up being one of the heroes of the story (elephant to the rescue!) - so I'm mostly just throwing out the question here and I'm certainly no animal expert, myself.

But I did do elephant research and for my novel it's all very accurate on how to groom an elephant.

Oops I forgot to finish - it's the travel of such large animals in trailers that seem precarious and even nightmarish to me.

From growing up on a farm I know that moving things as big as horses and cows can be a feat, and is usually bruising, and farm animals aren't even on the move like something in a traveling circus.

It's edgey for me. ;)

ty for sharing

Tough question. We are screwing up the planet so bad that these amazing mammals may not find any place to survive in time. How did you first find out that elephants existed ... I think I learned about them from the circus?

If it was my choice I would put people on small citylike reservations and save the planet for animals and people to enjoy by visiting it.

I have been to several circuses. Matter of fact back in April I took my mother to go see one with my husband and kids. This is the first one my 7 yr old has ever been to or my 8 yr old son. They both enjoye dit very much. The elephnats and animals all look like they were enjoying themselves and not being abused. The audience was well behaved and was able to ride the horses and a elephant for about a half hour. Than the animals took a break for awhile before the show went on and finished. I found it to be an amazing time.


I do know some circuses transport their animals on a train. It is amazing what you can when you live next to a set of railroad tracks.

Again, haven't we an issue of higher priority than this? The animal abuse laws are on the books. If you know of animals being abused, circus or otherwise, turn them in!

People transport horses in trailers where the quarters are cramped all the time. The horses load in without any hesitation and don't appear to be traumatized when they are taken out to ride.

I've seen real animal abuse and if you've seen it you'd not be fretting about circus elephants. These amazing creatures are very intelligent and have worked for humans for centuries. They are perfectly capable of enjoying the applause of the crowd!

Again, if you know of or see an elephant suffering from abuse, for God's sake report it! This is like the case where someone was having goats surgically altered to have only one horn in the center and displaying them as "unicorns." They were reported to the authorities and the head of the state authority did an investigation. He concluded that the "unicorns" were living a great life, well cared for, lush coats, great nutrition and there was no "animal abuse" as such to prosecute. Then, when ask "what kind of animals are they really," he replied "They're unicorns, of course. A unicorn is simply an animal with only one horn!

Yes. I think it's unnecessary to treat animals that way in the name of "performance." Zoos are hard to take sometimes because the animals are living unnatural lives in captivity, but that is balanced somewhat by the need to study and preserve species.