DO NOT ATTEND THE RINGLING BROTHERS CIRCUS!!!!!!
You may think it is neat watching all the circus animals do tricks, but the pain and torture they go through learning those tricks is ridiculous.
Not only are circus animals continuously abused and plagued with diseases, they are deprived of adequate shelter, food, water, veterinary care, and everything that is natural to them. They are prisoners, captives who have committed no crime whatsoever, receiving a punishment that we would never allow to be inflicted upon even our most hardened criminals. It is slavery in its most modern form and it is time for it to stop!
According to Henry Ringling North, in his book "The Circus Kings," the large felines are "chained to their pedestals, and ropes are put around their necks to choke them down. They work from fear." Bears' noses are often broken during training and their paws burned in order to force them to stand on two legs. In an interview with the Elephant Alliance, a former employee of Ringling Bros. reported on Ringling's treatment of one animal: "She was a sweet little innocent brown bear who never hurt anyone, but sometimes she had trouble balancing on the high wire. She was then beaten with long metal rods until she was screaming and bloody. She became so neurotic that she would beat her head against her small cage. She finally died." A Hudson News reporter who traveled with Ringling reported on the training of one chimpanzee: "Repeatedly, he was struck with a sturdy club. The thumps could be heard outside the arena building, and the screams further than that." These are only a few examples of the horrible things that happen behind the scenes at circuses.
It is impossible to ignore the fact that animals used in circuses do not belong there. They are large, wild animals who are meant to roam free. Even if their lives were surrounded with love and compassion, they are still living in a miserable existence. For instance, during the traveling season, when they are not performing, (which is approximately 98 percent of the time) the animals are housed in small, desolate cages where they sleep behind bars on cold, concrete
floors. This is a sad reality for animals who are quite large and naturally active.
So please, if you have any compassion in your body whatsoever...do not attend the Ringling Brothers Circus coming to Bossier November 20-23.
http://www.circuses.com/pdfs/RinglingFactsheet.pdf
