WILD ANIMALS IN CIRCUS
Lack of Public Education
Many people also think that they can learn something from the circus by watching elephants do certain tricks, or watching tigers jump through rings. Circuses are basically claiming to the public, especially young children that these unnatural stunts are behaviours that animals can perform in the wild. That these so called natural behaviours will allow children to learn about the behaviour of these animals. For example, elephants can not naturally walk on a tight rope, yet many people accept these activities as harmless entertainment as the circus claims. When animals are removed from their natural habitat simply for human entertainment, this portrays a negative message to the public. People begin to think that the only purpose of these animals is so serve us, to entertain us which is simply erroneous.
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What is the Circus Teaching The Public?
The use of wild animals in circus have no educational purpose or any positive influence on the public.
Portraying negative images of how humans interact with wild animals creating a disconnection between humans and animals.
The public is not learning about the natural behaviour of the animals or learning about certain threats of the animals. Instead, the circus shows the children and the overall public that humans are far more superior than wild animals.
It teaches children that animals do not have a freedom of right, promoting the notion that it is acceptable to exploit animals for entertainment.
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What Can Be Done?
Since circuses have a strong cultural background, ending circuses would not be the answer. Instead, animals should be taken out of circuses and entertainment should only be done by humans. There should be increased amount of funding for circuses that do not use animals in their shows(ex: Cirque du Soleil). This would help non animal circuses to grow and possibly cause the remaining circuses who do use animals to adapt their shows by omitting wild animals. As noted by ADI (2008), when circuses that use animals shut down, animal free circuses replace them. This way the circus industry is still able to thrive, prevent a decline in attendance, and most importantly the use of animals in circus will greatly decline.