Circus: Is it family entertainment or animal torture?
The circus was in town and so were those who protested their existence.
Many excited residents took their families to see the animals in all their glory at the McLaren Circus.
But there were also some people who were not very happy about the circus being in town.
‘We speak in one voice for the voiceless’, said a poster held by a person protesting against animal abuse in front of the circus on 10 November. Others’ posters said, ‘Animals are no entertainment’, ‘Welcome the cruelest show on Earth’ and ‘Sanctuary not slavery’.
The protest was organised by Ban Animal Trading (BAT), an organisation that protests for the rights of all animals.
In the past few years, BAT has ruffled some feathers by not only trying to protest outside circuses that still use animals in their acts, but also protesting about the pet trade, fur trade, zoos, aquariums, dog-fighting, fireworks and live animal exports, to name just a few of their causes.
Their website states that they are committed to confronting and eradicating animal exploitation and abuse in all industries that benefit from the misery and suffering of sentient creatures.
According to BAT, these animals do not choose to perform and do not do tricks like dancing, sitting on chairs and walking upright on their back legs because they want to. They do this because they have no choice and are afraid of what will happen if they don’t.
They say that not even our own pets are expected to perform every day, but these animals are. Animals in captivity become frustrated and suffer from stress and boredom and exhibit these traits by pacing up and down, bobbing their heads, swaying and sometimes they even lash out.
A source told the News how they have seen these animals being chased into their trailers with whips, and even during the show, whips are used.
But Karl Hildebrandt, social media and public relations officer for the McLaren Circus said they love their animals.
Even with all the criticism against them for having animals, he said that McLaren Circus’ dream is built on Traditional Circus, which means a variety of talented humans, as well as animals.
“Over the years of working with animals, our animal trainers have created such a strong bond with our animals that they understand them to the core. We love our animals and we wouldn’t be South Africa’s most loved traditional circus without them.”
He says that kneading is a form of expression for the cats. They understand this and would never take that away from the animals and thus their animals are not de-clawed.
Although there have been accusations of the wild animals being riled up before a show, by hitting their cages with sticks, he said that these are accusations that animals rights group use to pull at the heart-strings of the media. Their animals are still dangerous, especially when they are threatened or in fear.
“We would never put our trainers’ or the public’s lives at risk like that.”
He explained that the animals perform a maximum of 30 minutes per day and they are trained a maximum of 30 minutes per day, three to four times a week. The rest of the day the animals are roaming around in their enclosures or resting. The big cats sleep between 20 to 22 hours a day and can choose to sleep in their trailers or be outside in their enclosures.
“Our animals are with us on tour throughout the entire year. They have been brought up in this environment and changing this by taking them out of the show would negatively impact their routine.”
The animals and trainers adhere to the Performing Animals Protection Act 24 of 1935, as amended, and all their permits are up to date. They are also inspected by various SPCA inspectors when they arrive in a new town, sometimes as often as every week, explained Hildebrandt.
He said that the protest on 10 November in no way affected their sales.
“We have found that those who follow the herd will do so regardless. We are extremely open with our public, another value we strongly believe in. When the public approach us regarding the treatment of our animals, we play open cards and give them the freedom to watch the performance and judge for themselves.”
Hildebrandt said that they have yet again had an extremely supportive Krugersdorp visit and thanks the public for coming out. They will be back in 2019 and 2020.
“Animal cruelty is an extremely strong accusation and is a criminal offence. We do not take these accusations lightly. We would prefer that these accusations are not taken into the public’s own hands but that they report any criminal behaviour, with the supporting evidence, to the correct authorities.
“Circuses are not about fighting the animal rights activists. We are here to present an enjoyable family show with amazing human talent, showing the interaction between humans and animals, and the animals’ amazing natural abilities.”
For now, however, it seems that BAT is still on their mission to ensure that circuses in South Africa are animal-free.
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