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What About Domestic
Animals in Circuses?
Abusive training and constant confinement in circuses apply to domestic
animals as well as exotic animals. And while horses and ponies are
among the most commonly used animals in circuses, they receive the
least protection, as they are excluded from federal regulation under
the Animal Welfare Act. Positive reinforcement alone will not compel
any animal to follow commands to perform the types of complex maneuvers
in the typical circus routine—day after day, hundreds of times
a year. There will be days when an animal does not feel well or, for
whatever reason, does not wish to perform. Because circuses have to
satisfy paying customers, trainers cannot afford to let an animal
“get away with” a poor performance. The consequences of
failure are swift and painful.
Among the complaints that constitute cruelty to domestic animals,
reported to PETA by circusgoers and whistleblowers, are these:
• Doves were “kicked like soccer balls.”
• Horses were punched in the face and severely whipped.
• Dogs were only fed when they performed properly and were skin
and bones under their fur.
• Dogs, starved for affection, were left in crates whenever
they were not performing.
• Dogs were hit.
• Cats, obviously reluctant and fearful, were forced to jump
from high platforms onto small pillows.
• Trainers who appeared to be petting dogs during the show were
really inflicting a painful pinch.
• Alligators had their teeth filed down and were insufficiently
fed in order to keep them weak and easy to manipulate.
• In 1998, eight severely malnourished ponies used for pony
rides by Sterling & Reid Circus were confiscated by authorities
from a filthy trailer. The operators were charged with cruelty to
animals.
• In 2000, the owner of a pony ride operation and petting zoo
was charged with 39 counts of cruelty to animals after more than 300
animals, including two horses who were in such a weakened state that
they had to be euthanized, were seized from his New York home.
• Also in 2000, authorities in St.Tammany Parish, Louisiana,
found 10 horses, who had been used for pony rides at parties, abandoned
without water, food, or shelter and in need of veterinary care. One
horse had recently died, and another had been “reduced to skeletal
remains,” according to authorities.
• Once they are no longer useful, these exhausted ponies, who
have been dominated and deprived their entire lives, are typically
sent to slaughter or abandoned.
You can help stop the suffering of elephants, tigers, and other animals
abused in the name of "entertainment." Click
here to support PETA's vital work.
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"Make 'Em Scream": Watch Standard Elephant-Training Practices
Ringling Bros. Exposed
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