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Animals aren’t actors, nor circus clowns to engage humans. Yet, there are no national standards for the welfare of circus animals, which leads to thousands of elephants, bears, apes, and other animals being forced to perform silly, difficult tricks under threat of physical punishment from whips and bullhooks. These living creatures are kept caged and carted across the country in cramped, stuffy semi-truck trailers, and frequently separated from others of the same species - all for the purpose of human entertainment. So why are sentient beings still legalized to be trained for our own amusement? Evidence from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) shows that the brutal treatment of these innocent animals results in severe mental and physical suffering including depression and infection of wounds due to improper care, leading to violations against the Animals Welfare Act (Freedom for Animals. 2010). Therefore, as a result of the unethical nature of treating animals this way, the act of animal training for the sake of our own enjoyment should be banned to protect them from further physical and psychological torment.
The animals, in which most are relatively active and large, are cruelly forced to spend a larger majority of their lives in filthy and cramped cages, where they have insufficient access to basic necessities, such as food, water, and veterinary care. This is evidenced by a researcher from the University of Bristol, who has concluded that circuses fail to provide some of the most basic welfare needs of wild animals, such as space and social groups (Freedom for Animals. 2010). The research also claims that training only makes up 1-9% of the day for animals, the remaining time is spent in cages and exercise pens, in which the freedom of the elephants is extremely restricted by leg shackles that limit their ability to move in any directions; and big cats are imprisoned in cramped, filthy cages, wherein they eat, drink, sleep, defecate, and urinate - all in the same place. On top of the confinement of animals within small cages, they are also placed in individual houses, which limits the quantity and quality of space required for animals’ physiological and social needs, moreover, providing these animals insufficient environmental enrichments. The intense imprisonment is a far cry from the lush forests, spacious savannas, and rolling hills where animals naturally belong. Cramped inside cages, animals don't see it as being 'for their own good’; they see it through pain and sorrow. Deprived of everything that is natural and important to them, many develop neurotic behavior, including obsessive head-bobbing, swaying, and pacing. Thus, it is clear that animals trained for performances experience various negative impacts, wherein their welfare and freedom are often neglected by the keepers.
Secondly, many animals used in training for performances are typically bred in captivity or are captured from the wild, which separates them from their family and natural habitat. According to RSPCA, by forcibly removing these wild animals from their natural environment, there is a high likelihood that they will develop significant emotional and psychological conditions, such as depression and anxiety due to their inability to habituate to captivity or to mankind. Performance animals such as monkeys are highly intelligent and social animals that travel in large groups. However, circuses often imprison their animals into small, individual cages, stripping away their need for interaction and companionship with species of their own kind. A far cry from their wild relatives, who live in large, close-knit communities and travel together for miles each day across forests, savannahs, and hills. Besides the sourcing method of capturing wild animals, performance animals such as elephants can also be obtained by captive breeding within the circus. Like us, animals form extremely close bonds with their families, and the mothers are intensely maternal and emotional. However, baby animals born into the circus are taken away from their mothers and then forced to learn difficult tricks. Imagine yourself watching your own children being violently treated as soon as they are born, while you can only watch this happen. Likewise, performance animals are psychologically traumatized as they can only watch as their babies are taken away and tormented.
Finally, physical punishment has always been the standard training method for performance animals in circuses, in which they are beaten, shocked, and whipped to make them obey and perform - over and over again - meaningless and physically uncomfortable tricks. In 2016, video footage was shot by a PETA undercover investigation of samples of circuses, whereby the majority of sources show the animal-care director viciously attacking, yelling, and cursing at, and electric shocking endangered Asian elephants. On top of this, elephant trainers in the footage appear to be continuously beating the elephants with a bullhook as hard as they could and sinking the sharp metal bullhook into the animals’ flesh and twisting it until they screamed in pain, in order to force them to perform dangerous and uncomfortable tricks which makes no sense to the animals. Over a lifetime of torment from all the whipping and yelling, most animals suffer from traumatizing pain and experience frustration, in which, with a shattered heart and a broken body, they eventually choose to harm or even kill themselves when they are overwhelmed by the anguish of circus life (Animals Asia, 2019).
For decades, PETA has advocated for the unethical mistreatment of sentient beings who live a vicious performance life. Given the various disrespect and maltreatment to the beautiful majestic animals, it is staggering that there are still thousands of animals being brutally trained for the purpose of entertainment for mankind. The inhuman physical punishment, confinement, and removal of animals from their natural environment would result in significant psychological and physical issues for performance animals, which would ultimately lead to suicidal behaviors and greatly neglect their wellbeing. Currently, animals are still ridiculed on stages, while suffering from the pain brought by whipping and deprivation of freedom. We cannot let these atrocities continue. We must act now, It is our responsibility to protect these sentient beings from the distorted treatment of circuses for our entertainment.
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