Protesters object to wild animals being used in circuses
However, a spokesperson for the circus stated no-one was forced to attend the show.
A small group protested against the use of wild animals for entertainment purposes outside McLaren Circus in Port Shepstone last weekend.
One of the protesters, Susan Henderson who spoke in her personal capacity said circuses in many parts of the world are not allowed to use performing wild animals.
“Wild animals are sentient beings who have evolved to live in the wild. Performing in front of a noisy audience is difficult for many people – think of the sensory aspects and stage fright,” she added.
However, a spokesperson for the circus stated no-one was forced to attend the show.
“We are legal and operate under the Animal Protection Act and Performing Animal Act. Since our arrival, the SPCA has inspected the animals. The Department of Agriculture is the licensing body that oversees performing animals and conducts regular inspections to ensure welfare and standards are maintained,” said David McLaren.
“Surely, if the animals are being abused, someone would have done something about it. If the SPCA had seen physical or mental harm, they would have taken action,” he added.
According to Henderson, wild animals are kept in a captive environment and made to perform unnatural and physically detrimental acts. She cited an example of an elephant sitting on a small stool in a begging position.
“Who in the right mind can believe the animal is willing. Animals performing like this have gone into the freeze/compliant mode. They are broken and their spirit taken from them.”
McLarens uses lions, camels, horses, poodles, snakes and miniature horses in its show. “Our lions are born and raised in captivity, we didn’t take them out of the Kruger National Park as it would not be fair,” said McLaren.
He also pointed out an example of a cheetah outreach programmes where people have the opportunity to interact with them. “What is the difference between the fenced in cheetah and my fenced in lion – both are used for human entertainment?”
“We spend a lot of time with our animals. They have different personalities, some take longer to learn something while others get it quicker. We use the animal’s natural ability – a lion will not ride a bicycle – they will jump and leap because that is their natural ability.”
McLaren’s averages three shows a day. Before the Covid-19 pandemic they visited between 70 to 80 towns and cities per year. They were closed between March 18 and October 15, 2020 due to lockdown restrictions.
“The sad reality is that during that period we saw no animal activists or animal welfare organisation. We didn’t exist, the animals didn’t matter because I couldn’t earn. The minute we re-opened there was a turnaround,” said McLaren.
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