Video proof circus elephants are tortured into performing

[Guest guest]

I have leaflets and signs. Just bring yourself and your friends to

the peaceful demonstration this weekend and next. Margaret

 

 

 

, Margaret Morin

<dogs_good wrote:

>

> If anyone doubts that circus animals are tortured, not trained,

into performing, and start the video or if you

don't want to see it, read the below article:

http://www.circuses.com/introduction.asp

>

> Speak for these captive and abused animals this weekend and next

when we peacefully demonstrate at the Shrine Circus. Contact me for

details.

>

> If we don't speak for them, no one will. Margaret

>

> ***********************************

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> Cruel Training

> For animals in circuses, there is no such thing

as " positive reinforcement " —only varying degrees of

punishment and deprivation. Animals do not voluntarily

ride bicycles, stand on their heads, or jump through rings of fire.

They don't perform these and other difficult tricks because they want

to; they perform because they're afraid not to. For information about

specific circuses,

>

> Circuses easily get away with routine abuse because no

government agency monitors training sessions. Trainers

use bullhooks, whips, sticks, electric prods, and other tools that

intentionally cause pain and injury in order to force animals to

perform. Undercover footage of behind-the-scenes training shows

elephants beaten with bullhooks and shocked with electric prods, big

cats dragged by heavy chains around their neck and hit with sticks,

bears whacked and prodded with long poles, and chimpanzees kicked and

hit with riding crops.

>

> Constant Confinement

> Ringling Bros. boasts that its two units travel more than 25,000

miles as they tour across the country for 11 months each year.

Constant travel means that animals are confined to

boxcars and trailers for days at a time in extremely hot

and cold weather, often without access to basic

necessities, such as food, water, and veterinary care.

>

> Some elephants spend almost their whole lives shackled. One study

of traveling circuses observed an elephant who spent up to 96 percent

of her time in chains. Tigers and lions usually live and travel in

cages 4 feet high by 7 feet long by 7 feet wide, with two big cats

crammed into a single cage. Big cats, bears, and primates are forced

to eat, drink, sleep, defecate, and urinate in the same cramped cages.

>

> Public Danger

> Frustrated by years of beatings, bullhooks, and shackles, some

elephants snap. And when an elephant rebels against a trainer's

physical dominance, trainers cannot protect themselves, let alone the

public.

>

> In 1994, an elephant killed her trainer and injured 12 spectators

before being gunned down by almost 100 bullets while running

terrified through downtown Honolulu. In 1992, officer Blayne Doyle

had to shoot Janet, an elephant who charged out of the Great American

Circus arena with five children on her back. In speaking before

members of Congress about the dangers of elephant rampages, Doyle

lamented, " I have discovered, much to my alarm, that, once an

elephant goes out of control, nothing can be done. It is not a

predictable or preventable accident. The only thing that can be done—

and even this is a danger to the public—is to get a battery of police

officers in with heavy weapons and gun the elephant down. "

Click here to read more about the risks of performing

animal attacks.

>

> Circus Bans

> Because of concerns about animal mistreatment and public safety, a

growing number of communities are banning or restricting the use of

animals in circuses. Click here for a complete list.

>

> Animal-Free Circuses

> The Latest Shows on Earth—the Cirque du Soleil, the

New Pickle Family Circus, Cirque Éloize, and others—are exciting and

innovative circuses that dazzle audiences without animal acts. Click

here for a list of animal-free circuses.

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