Circuses: Fun for the people, not for the animals

Colorful pageantry disguises the fact that animals used in circuses are mere captives forced to perform unnatural and often painful acts. If the public would become more aware of the details of the animal’s treatment, lack of vet care, confinement, training and "retirement", perhaps we can abolish this type of animal cruelty.

Taking animals and beating them into submissiveness so they can perform unnatual and demeaning acts to make money for people is not the way we ought to teach our children about wildlife. The life of any animal in a circus is not a good life. We are told to respect animals, but circuses do not respect them, animals are only an instrument used to make money. They set them aside and disregard them until it is their turn to perform, then afterwards they are tied up again to be ignored until loaded in their cages. They are denied proper diets, exercise and medical care.

This past August 28th and 29th, the Alain Zerbini’s Circus from Florida was in our twin cities. The animals they traveled with included two camels, two large hogs, ten ducks, a rabbit, three or four ponies and an undetermined number of dogs. All these animals travel in the same hot trailer with very little ventilation, even the dogs, they are not even companions of these circus people.

The News Gazette offered a photo in the local section of Tuesday’s paper. It showed "Louie" the dromedary and stated that he was patiently awaiting his turn to perform. Look closely, there is no water available to him, he is standing on concrete, and what you couldn’t see was that he was intensely swaying. Have you ever seen a troubled person sit and rock back and forth?

Louie and Corky the camels had sat on the corner of Park and 2nd St. in the direct sunlight all day, and very limited shade was offered to the ponies, hogs, ducks and rabbits. Again on Tuesday, at the Urbana Armory, the animals were forced to sit in the direct sunlight and on concrete all day! The heat index for Tuesday reached 114 degrees! I notified the Armory of my concern and their response was they had already once told them to move the animals, they could only ask them to move the animals, they couldn’t force them. As a host of the circus on their property, don’t they have the right to set and enforce rules, especially being a federal government institution?

I contacted the Champ. Co. Animal Control and was told that since the Armory is in city limits and I would need to contact the Urbana Animal Control, which could only be contacted through the non-emergency met cad number. I had to leave my name and number, and no one from that department has contacted me yet.

After the show, the horses and camels were tied up to a fence while the people busily worked to dismantle the circus to head to their next destination. Only one of the horses would have been able to reach a bucket that may or may not have contained water. I did noticed one camel and one pony were lucky enough to eat some of the nearby grass and trees.

These animals do not have voices! We can only become aware of their body language and stand up and speak for them. Please join me in the fight to ban these types of circuses from our area. Join me in contacting the federal, local and armory officials to ban this type of animal cruelty. We can not save the world, but we can make a difference where we live. So let’s ban together and let these circus people know such animals acts are not welcomed or wanted here.

You are the visitor to read my letter. Thank you! Have a wonderful animal loving day! :)