Dear Manager

Would you want to support this?………………………….

“Sadie (young elephant) just couldn’t grasp what we were trying to show her. In frustration, she attempted to run out of the ring. We brought her back and began to punish her for being so stupid. We stopped suddenly, and looked at each other, the tears streaming down her face and sobs racking her huge body.”

“She was a sweet little innocent brown bear who never hurt anyone…but sometimes she had trouble balancing on the high wire. She was then beaten with long metal rods until she was screaming and bloody. She became so neurotic, that she would beat her head against her small cage. She finally died.”

These are just two accounts, by ex-circus employees, of how circus animals are trained. Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents. In fact, the barbaric methods to break and train circus animals are normal practice. Unbelievably, there is no legislation in the UK, which protects circus animals, despite what circus owners may say to the contrary! Training of circus animals is very secretive; animals undergo training behind closed doors.

The Great British Circus forces tigers, zebras, camels, horses, ponies, reindeer and pygmy goats to perform tricks, purely in the name of entertainment and to make money. They make many claims about their high welfare standards, and of awards they have won (ironically, awarded by those who support circuses anyway!). The RSPCA does not support the use of animals in circuses. However, the Great British Circus would have you believe that they do, by mentioning the fact that they are regularly inspected by the RSPCA. In reality, the RSPCA have little power to prevent cruelty in circuses. Please do not take our word for this – phone the RSPCA and check their position on circuses!

There is no educational value in circuses, despite the Great British Circus’ claim that they are “the UK’s only educational circus”. Seeing such magnificent animals reduced to performing cheap tricks is most certainly not educational! The idea of publicly humiliating an animal to prove that ‘Man’ is capable of this kind of dominance is not fun. Children should be taught to respect animals – circuses teach the opposite.

Many circuses, including the world famous Billy Smarts, have stopped using animals. They still provide professional, good value entertainment, without the use of animals.

Please do not support this cruelty. By removing the poster you are currently displaying and not using any complimentary tickets you may have been given, you are not encouraging others to visit this circus.

Thank you for your time.
Essex Animal Freedom
essexanimalfreedom@hotmail.com
0709 2033 024