Payton Whiteman

English 1201
March 17, 2015
Lions and Tigers and Bears Dont Die!
Have you ever been to a circus? If so, then Im sure you have noticed the wide variety of
wild, exotic animals that are part of the thrilling show. People spend numerous amounts of
money to watch innocent animals live a life that they were forced to live. Elephants, tigers,
bears, zebras, horses, monkeys and even domesticated animals, such as dogs, are forced to do
tricks that normal exotic animals in the wild would never do. These animals are forced to
become entertainment to thousands of people on a daily basis and sadly they have no say in what
they are doing. People wonder why the list of the endangered species keeps getting higher and
higher, and sadly this is one of the reasons. The animals are put through hell in order to evoke
happiness and excitement to the people in the audience watching. Wouldnt you want to protect
these amazing wild animals instead of creating an easier way to break them down and perhaps
kill them in a slow and painful way? In my opinion, I believe circus acts would still be exciting
without the animals being involved. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of
a slave is someone who is legally owned by another person and is forced to work for that person
without pay. Now doesnt this sound a little like what the circus is doing to the exotic animals
they use regardless being paid or not. They never wanted to do this and neither did the human
slaves back in the day. They were brutally abused if they did not do exactly what their masters
or owners wanted them to do. Do you think these wild elephants or tigers deserve to be slaves

against their own will? They cannot tell you how they feel without being aggressive since they
obviously cannot communicate as well as humans.
From a young age these wild animals are taken away from their families to live a life they
should never have to live. From the wild they are taken into captivity and are forced to learn a
new life that is very different than what they should be in. Baby elephants should be nursed for
several years before being on their own or separated from their mothers. But by being in the
circus, young elephants are taken away from their mothers way too soon and causes the baby to
get stressed out and possibly injured or developing a sickness. In 1999, during an inspection of
Ringling's breeding farm in Polk City, Florida, the USDA noted lesions on the legs of two baby
elephants. Ringling Brother's employees explained the "rope burns" were caused during the
process of separating the baby elephants from their mothers. The USDA later determined that
the handling of the two elephants "caused unnecessary trauma, behavioral stress, and physical
harm" and was in violation of the Animal Welfare Act. (The Circus Is No Place for Animals).
These baby animals should be with their mothers not attached to ropes and forced to do tricks
when they can barely walk at their young age. It is sad that they will never know what it is like
to be happy in the wild and free but at the same time it is good that they were taken at a young
age because they will never have to remember how life was before being in captivity. They are
better off not knowing what life would have been like being in the wild than it is in the circus.
When you go see a circus you see things you never thought could ever happen with
animals and even people. If you have ever been, you know the acts are mind blowing. Seeing
people being shot out of cannons, someone on a small rope doing flips, women that are so
flexible that it scares you, and many mind blowing tricks. You also witness animals performing
tricks that you never thought you would see. Tigers are forced to jump through hula-hoops and

balance on small objects that they would never normally do. Elephants are forced to let people
do acrobatic tricks on top of them, balance on small objects like a larger sized bouncy ball for
example. Tigers are naturally scared of fire but they are forced to jump through hoops with fire
around the circus ring. They have been brutally burned to the point of near death. After
watching a video of the Ringling Brothers Circus or even going to the circus and watching it live,
you see these tigers doing something you never thought in your right mind would ever actually
happen, which it should not. Wild tigers jumping through rings of flames is extremely cruel. It
is very hard to imagine how many times these beautiful animals have been burnt by the flames.
Men and women use horses in the circus to stand up on their backs and balancing while doing
back handsprings and other acrobatic acts. The horses are forced to put all of their weight on a
horse in front of them to balance. The circus uses different types of primates, which is any
member of the group of animals like chimps, human beings, and any other monkeys. Monkeys
are very social animals and need a lot of attention so being in a circus doesnt give them much
attention at all unless they are preparing for their acts. They have monkeys riding on
motorcycles which is very unsafe. The circus seeks pleasure to people paying to watch wild
animals be tortured and abused on a daily basis. These poor animals are terrified of the acts they
are forced to do and there is very little they can do about it unless they get mad and attack their
trainers or whoever is hurting them. These animals deserve better treatment just like the humans
that are in the circus. The men and women in the circus train for only a few hours and then get to
live their lives freely. They get to sleep on a comfortable bed, eat food whenever they please,
and live a typical normal life while the animals are abused and hit and deprived of food and
sleep. God did not create these animals to be treated like slaves to entertain people, he created

these beautiful creatures so they could live a life just like we do. These awesome tricks are
wearing and tearing these animals down to the point they are either injured or sick all the time.
Some people like to say that circuses are like zoos in a way. They say that having these
animals in the circuses are keeping them safe and away from danger. They believe that having
these tigers and elephants, which are on the endangered species list, will keep them alive longer
and away from extinction. There are many differences between wild animals living in a Zoo and
being in a circus. Zoo animals are treated like kings and queens on a thrown compared to what
circus animals receive. Zoo animals get their own private luxury place to call home where they
can walk as they please, sleep when they please, eat and drink as they please, and basically do
anything an animal would do in the wild except attack other animals. In the circus animals get
deplorable treatment and do not get to live in a paradise like zoo animals do. They are trapped in
cages most of their lives, traveling to different cities every day. If they misbehave or do not
perform their act perfectly during practices they might not get fed that day. Zoo animals get
much better treatment than circus animals have ever received. Circuses believe that they are
doing the world a favor by taking these animals in and turning them into slaves. They say that
they are creating a safer environment for the animals rather than being out in the wild. In reality,
they are lowering their life expectancy to a much younger age. They think having animals who
are on the endangered species list in the circus will keep them alive and safe, but in reality, they
are causing death by wearing and tearing the animals down. Wild animals were meant to be in
the wild hence the reason they are called wild animals. They deserve to live in the free and be
allowed to roam where ever they please. Animals in the zoo might not get to roam around as
they please but at least they get attention and well balanced nutrients.

Have you ever wondered how the animals get transported from one show to the next?
They are forced to stay in boxcars inside of a small cage and attached to a chain. According to
Born Free USA, the animals are constrained to the cage for 300 days a year because of all the
traveling they do and when they arent working with that specific animal. Over long distances
they are forced to sit, stand or even lie in their own waste until someone comes around to clean it
which could be days, even weeks. Circuses are repeatedly cited by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) under the Animal Welfare Act for trailers that have splintering wood and
sharp, protruding metal pieces near animals' cages (Born Free USA). The animals are born,
injured, and even die in these long, awful rides. Ringling Brothers travels to over 140 cities in
eleven months which is over 30,000 miles. Some animals that get sick on tour will either be sent
back to the main headquarters of the circus or even have to stay on tour no matter how sick they
actually become. Elephants with Bailey Brothers Circus spent a whole day inside the trailer,
traveling to a Hindu festival to provide rides. Two days later, they traveled from Austin to
Kansas and did not leave the trailer for the entire day. As a result, in a 72-hour period the
elephants left their transporter for only six hours, in order to give rides at the festival. Following
this, they were driven to Butler, Missouri, and were not let out of their trailer until noon. One
elephant was immediately chained up outside and only released for the afternoon show (Federal
Circus Bill). Improper spine, feet, and let posture in the small cages can cause arthritis. They are
incapable to shift their footing, turn around, and hardly has enough room to lie down. During
their transport from city to city they are stuck in a box car that doesnt have climate control
which means when its summer the temperature in the train can get very hot and they do not have
windows to put fresh air inside of their boxcar. In 2004, a lion with the Ringling Brothers and
Barnum Bailey Circus died while traveling through the intense heat of the Mojave Desert in a

poorly ventilated boxcar (ARFF). It is not unusual to see animals swaying back and forth, headbobbing, or cage pacing due to being confined to the box car or cage they are stuck in for long
periods of time. In some cases, the wild animals are stuck in the cages but allowed to move
around freely in the cage but the cage is not large enough for them to turn around. Other times
they have chains on their feet so they are not able to move around, which can cause serious
injuries to them. These chains can cause chronic foot and joint arthritis but they are still forced
to perform in the next show.
Sheen you are younger, it is common to be mesmerized by the fascinating animals doing some
very thrilling and what seems to be exciting tricks but when you get older you start to realize it is
not exciting or thrilling but very sick and upsetting. Have you ever wondered how the trainers
get these animals to stand on two feet, jump through a ring on fire, or even balance on a ball, it is
not by bribing them with treats thats for sure. Violent, physical abuse is the most common way
to train and control these animals which is very sick and twisted. In 2002, an elephant trainer
named Tim Frisco, with the Cole Brothers Circus, was filmed by an undercover investigator
attacking, and screaming profanity at elephants (ARFF). Elephants are jabbed in the back of their
ears and on their legs, which are both sensitive areas, by a bull hook which is a sharp pointed
hook used to control elephants. Trainers also use electric prods, electric collars, and whips to
help control the animals. Normally the people should be scared of the wild animals but in the
circus the wild animals are the ones that are scared of the people. Wild animals should have
control over the people instead of people having control over them. These animals were made to
roam on their own, not be stuck in cages and hit with whips and be abused all of their lives. In
2011, someone got an undercover video of Bobby Roberts Super Circus where they found a 58
year old elephant named Anne, being brutally beaten. The footage of the video lasted from

January 21 through February 15 and during that time Anne had been beaten forty-eight times.
The trainers would use a bull hook and ram it into her legs, butt, back, among other places. In
the footage, you can see the awful pain in her eyes and the cries for help. She was chained by
her feet and could not move an inch even if she tried and when she did try she would get awful
sores and they would just get worse and worse every time she would try to tug out of the chains.
She is trapped in that one place when the trains beat her and she cannot defend herself or even
run away when the beating is happening. Anne had arthritis in her legs and these awful trainers
would repeatedly jam bull hooks right on her arthritis and make her legs throb. In the video, you
also see the trainers were beating other circus animals brutally and spit on countless of times. In
2012, Bobby Roberts, the owner of the circus, was found guilty of three counts of causing
unnecessary suffering to a performing elephant. He was given a three year conditional discharge
for mistreating Anne. Anne was then taken out of the circus and was taken to the Longleat Safari
Park where she has received proper treatment for her arthritis and is now building muscle. (BCC
News). Even when animals get hurt during practices, acts, or even by their trainers they are still
forced to perform in the next circus. Next time you go to a circus look in the animals eyes and

look at how sad and hurt they really are.

I met with a Veterinarian assistant that works at Monroe Family Pet Hospital. I knew she had
never dealt with any circus animals, but she did say she has had quite a few incidents where the
dogs brought in were not taken care of and were beaten pretty badly. One dog she remembers
very well was a dog named Charley. She stated that when you looked at him he would try to
hide and start to shake. He had not been fed in a very long time and you could tell from his skin
and bones. You could see every single rib on his body and every bone. He had not had a bath in
several years, with dirt and filth stuck to his body. He had multiple broken bones from his

owners hands. They had beaten him severly to the point where he almost died. Just thinking
about someone who is so cruel only wanting to hurt or possibly kill a precious animal is very
psychotic. This type of behavior should never happen. In this case with Charley, his owner was
taken to jail for his abuse to the dog.
You see on the news how pets are being abused countless times and are being taken away
from their awful environment of being beaten, attacked by other animals, not being fed, lying in
their own feces and urine, and not having a proper place to sleep. But what you do not see on the
news is when wild animals are being abused the same way pets are being abused. In the book,
Companion Animals & Us by Anthony L. Podberscek, he talks about not only people being
abused and how horrible it is but how animals being abused is exactly the same as a person being
abused. They didnt agree to being abused and neither did people. The only difference in people
being abused and animals being abused is that people can speak up and yell for help but animals
sadly cannot. They are forced to sit there and accept the awful, excruciating pain that no person
or animal should ever have to feel. If the trainers were hit or beaten the way they hit the animals
then they would understand what those poor helpless animals go through on a daily basis. The
trainers should go a day without food, be tied up not being able to move, have to lay in their own
feces and urine and all the cruel things they make these animals do all the time.
In the movie Water for Elephants, is about a man that joins the circus as a veterinarian
and works for an unstable boss that is very violent and takes a lot of anger out on people and also
on the elephants in their circus. The movie is an eye-opening event that reveals what actually
happens behind the curtains in the circus. No one really knows what is going on unless you are
there or you film the action that happens after a show is over. No animal should ever go through

the torture that these bears, tigers, lions, elephants and other animals experience on an hourly
basis.
There are times where the animals in the circus do not get fed at all for a day or so. Some
performing animals are fed only after a satisfactory performance and at no other time. Starve
animals long enough and they are soon willing to do practically anything (AHAN). When these
animals are not given food it causes them to be extremely weak. Then they are expected to
perform outrageous stunt and tricks which can lead to extreme injuries. If they do not succeed
during the performance, they will then still receive no food and will become weaker and
unhealthier as the days go on. When they are traveling in the boxcars or trucks, the trainers do
not make special trips to stop and make sure the animals have food and water. There are times
when the animals do not have water and are extremely thirsty. When there are extreme
temperatures the animals need water or they could potentially die of dehydration.
Sometimes the wild animals get the chance to escape and start running through cities
causing chaotic incidents. Since 2000 there have been about 35 dangerous incidents where
elephants have bolted from circuses, run amok through streets, crashed into buildings, attacked
members of the public, and killed and injured handlers. In 1994, an elephant named Tyke killed
her trainer and injured 12 spectators before being gunned down while running terrified through
downtown Honolulu (she was shot almost 100 times). In 1992, Officer Blayne Doyle was forced
to shoot and kill Janet, an elephant who charged out of the Great American Circus arena with
five children on her back (PETA). It is so sad that these poor elephants were shot and killed and
forced to be put in that situation feeling like they had to escape from the abuse they were getting
in the circus. Since 1990, elephants have been responsible for more than 12 human deaths and
more than 126 human injuries. There have also been more than 123 documented attacks on

humans from lions and tigers. In 2001, two elephants trampled through a church in Charlotte,
NC, luckily they did not run into any of the people but it causes a terrifying situation.
There are about 99 wild animals on the endangered species list and more than half of the
animals in the circus are on this list. How can these poor animals that get abused every day be in
the circus when they are already on a list that means they are about to die off all together?
Elephants, tigers, chimpanzees, and a few lions are all on the endangered species list and they all
risk the chances of dying in the circus. These animals are at a greater risk of dying by people
causing the pain than they do dying in the wild. People are causing these animals to be extinct
not the wild. All animals should be taken out of the circus for their own safety and happiness.
Just recently Ringling Brothers Circus has stated that they have taken out elephants in the
circus which is a start to what needs to happen, which is the removal of all wild animals in circus
acts. A long list of other countries have already banned animals in a circus, for instance, Bolivia,
Canada, Brazil, Columbia, Greece, Israel, Singapore, Sweden, and the UK. Hopefully one day
here soon the United States will be the next country to be a part of this low amount of countries.
The list continues to grow and hopefully one day all countries will ban animals being in the
circus for the wellbeing and safety of them.
Wild animals deserve to be in the wild and to be free at all times. They deserve to live in
the wild and venture out to find their own food and pray. No animal should ever be beaten and
chained up in cages all of their lives. These are spectacular creatures that deserve life. Let the
circuses be human circus acts only and take away the animals. No animal should ever be put
through hell and forced to do cruel tricks that make them break bones, bleed, and be terrified for
their lives. United States should be on the list of counties that ban animals in the circus. Look in
the eyes of these poor creatures and see the pain and hurt in their eyes. Help them get their lives

back before its too late. Help them win another chance to be in the wild and live a life they were
never given. Circuses were never meant for animals to be in and to ruin their bodies for peoples
entertainment.

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