.
CIRCUS... the other side of the truth

At a time that the environmental problems are continuously increasing and the State is limiting its action in signing International Conventions but without their actual application (legislative adjustments, establishment of a control mechanism), we felt the need to take action on one of the many subjects that, in our opinion, brutally insult our culture and particularly our humanity.

With the chance of the presence of an animal circus in our city, we decided to activate, in an attempt of informing the public, enlightening the dark aspect call “backstage” of this spectacle, which unfortunately is mostly addressed to children. Eleven Animal Welfare and Ecological Societies have united their forces, along with many private citizens who were informed on the matter and mobilized. In the morning of the 17th of January 1999, representatives of the above Societies were gathered in front of the circus in N.Efkarpia, Thessaloniki. The group will continue to inform our co-citizens and will pursue the installation prohibition of animal circuses in our city.

LEGISLATION

Until 1993, that Greece signed the CITES Convention (International Convention on the Trade of Endangered Species) without yet adjusting the Greek legislation, the transportation of the circuses was controlled only by the Customs legislation. After an investigation of the Network TRAFFIC (the biggest program watching the Trade of the Wild Nature) it was proved that in 1992, among the 4 Italian circuses performing in Athens, none had been checked in the Customs, nor had it been supplied with the special permission for entrance and movement of animals, for which there are special adjustments. The same goes for the circus in Thessaloniki that economically broke down, leaving 3 tigers and 2 lions.

After 1993 with the abolition of the internal borders of the E.E., therefore the abolition of the Customs’ Controls as well, in combination with the lack of legislation for the application of the CITES, it is considered that the trade of wild animals in Greece is basically uncontrolled and it is believed that the country is used as an entrance gate for illegal animals in Europe through the circuses. [1]

The illegal hunting of endangered species is one of the main suppliers of the circuses. If we calculate that, to arrest a youngster they have to kill the adult female-mother or eliminate the whole tribe, we can imagine the contribution of these profit businesses in the elimination of wild life.

"TRAINING"

The training of animals in special big training farms- of Europe, which no Animal Welfare Organization has ever managed to watch officially, is been conducted in barbaric and torturing ways.

At the first stage, they have to extinguish the animal’s natural strength, that is “not to consider using it” and this is being accomplished by his total terrorization. Usual methods: hunger, thirst and ruthless beating with iron bars against the chained animal.

At this stage, many animals are being eliminated with or without their will (lack of natural strength to the tortures, stress of the enclosure or even willing refusal of food) At the next stage, which is the main training, the animal “learns” to move in the circus stage in circles (method: a carpet of burning coal) finding shelter on the tools. The scars of burning on the animals’ paws are undeniable witnesses of this technique. About jumping through a burning circle or the elephant’s balancing on one or two front feet, the bear riding a bicycle or skating, which are all movements AGAINST AND OUTSIDE THE ANIMAL’S NATURE, was not yet possible to record the methods used, but they are certainly as outrageous and torturing. The shade of silence that covers this matter, on behalf of the circuses, in combination with the total prohibition of allowing the Organizations to watch this “training” make us fear for the “inventions” of Man, in order to take the animal out of his nature.

Generally for all animals (herbivores and pets) that must perform a “trick”, that is specific movements on the order of Man, the “training” is being based on hunger and thirst, so that it will seem as a reward the “treating” of the hungry animal.

The view of the whip or the stick with the ribbons, hiding the hook or the nail functions as “a reminder” of the tortures that came before and the animal acts with the conditional reflexes: performs automatically the movements he must, to avoid repeating the tortures.

LIVING CONDITIONS

The circus animals travel constantly, 8 to 9 months a year, while the circus is touring. The breaks are short and are being exploited in training. This means:
 

LOVE AND CARE

The usual claim of the people of the circus is that “they love the animals and they take good care of them, because they are what they live on”.

In the cruel reality though, the nutrition, the cleanliness, the veterinarian attention, after the training in the ways mentioned above (which don’t really show much love) are basic; that is as much as it is necessary to keep the animal alive (it would be unprofitable to let it die) and keep “working” for the owner. The nutrition, usually insufficient due to high cost, usually contains the stray animals of the area.

Those animals that manage, keep “working” until the day they die. But the others, those who, growing old become unable to perform “tricks”, are sold for experiments to labs (mostly the apes) or sold and killed to be used in medicines (their bones and guts in traditional medicine of Asia and Africa – tigers and lions) or food in tins (horses) or they are abandoned anywhere or executed, since the law of the circus is to exclude any animal that don’t “pay” his keeping.

The total lack of veterinarian attention is being proved by the fact that no circus concludes a veterinarian in the staff. The local veterinarians that are called occasionally and only in a great need, do not know and therefore are unable to nurse animals of a foreign fauna.

DRUGS

We should also mention the use of narcotic substances on animals that naturally cannot perform “tricks” (alligators, crocodiles) or on the very wild animals, which cannot be completely controlled by their trainer.

PEDAGOGY

Because the circus is a spectacle mostly addressed to children, we are wondering what the small child finally gets watching a circus performance. An image of a wild animal or animal of foreign fauna is far more realistic than the view of a wayworn and tortured prisoner. With today’s means, the documentary films show in many more details the real life of the animal in nature and his familiar environment, where his virtues are being shown.

The message of the human predominance on the Wild Nature, which is certainly what the child collects, should trouble his parents on the sort of education the circus provides.

We find it very unpleasant to accept that there are parents who want their child to have fun without noticing the bars, the imprisonment and the ordered moves under the threat of the whip.

After all these, we conclude that the profitable business called circus is a world that offers “spectacle” in the front, but backstage the financial interests that move the strings are far more powerful and dirty than the good-willing and uninformed citizen can imagine. Circles of smuggling of wild animals (third in worldwide smuggling after the smuggling of guns and drugs), circles of drugs, collectors, training farms ant trainers.

All information and accusations that occasionally reach the international animal welfare Organizations, were made by people who participated in the business called circus and after that they were expelled forever from their work, without the possibility of them to ever work again in any circus of the world.
.

For the edition of this text, information was used from:

[1] E.Fleming’s on the Network TRAFFIC

[2] EAR (Europe for Animal Rescue)

[3] K.Tsipiras, About the rights of the animals, series ECOLOGY and ENVIRONMENT

[4] RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

back