PT Barnums Cruelty within Circus - Essay Example

? P.T. Barnum's Cruelty within Circus Introduction P. T. Barnum was a showman and businessperson from American origin. During the year 1842, Barnum started his key hoax, a creature “with the head of a monkey and the tail of a fish” (Hartzman, p. 102). He named this creature as ‘Feejee mermaid’. Barnum was recognized as the “Shakespeare of Advertising” (Hartzman, p. 199), as a result of his ground-breaking as well as extraordinary initiatives. He recognized the way to bring supporters in, by providing them a glance of something that they had not seen earlier. From time to time, he was indicted of being misleading and encouraging bogus publicity. He just modified the truth and made it appear more attractive. He was aware of what America required and he delivered exactly the same. This paper sheds light on animal abuse and violence in circus, with special reference to P. T. Barnum’s circus and its cruel behavior with elephants, particularly ‘Jumbo’ - a big, 13000-pound African Elephant. Jumbo was a huge ‘sensation’ in the London Zoo. During the period of 16 years he gave rides to thousands of kids on his back and pleased people with his naughty, humorous nature. However, surreptitiously the enormous creature - Jumbo - terrified zoo representatives with bad temper - and it appeared that just the similarly disobedient Scott could handle him. Therefore, the London Zoo management sold Jumbo and shipped him - along with Scott - to P.T. Barnum for his well-known circus. One may have doubted how the Barnum circus makes a 13000-pound Jumbo to carry out tricks such as “sitting up or standing on his or her head” (Coup, p. 22). It is by means of ruthless behavior of trainers. The well-known circus shatters the strength of elephants when they are defenseless kids who should be staying with their mothers. They had a life of slavery from the second they came into this world: all innate movements, all senses and way of being is shattered, by means of bull hooks, ropes as well as electric shock. In the year 1885, during the tour of Canada, Jumbo was hit by a cargo train and killed on the spot. Barnum's subsequent test was to modify public feelings with reference to the theater. Generally considered as ‘places of wickedness’, Barnum desired to place them as fortresses of learning as well as amusement, and as ‘highly regarded’ middle-class hobby. He constructed the city's biggest as well as most ‘up to date’ theater, which was named as “Moral Lecture Room” (Hartzman, p. 111). Circus Cruelty During the year 1882, P.T. Barnum gave 10,000 USD to buy Jumbo, the most renowned elephant around the world, chained up like ‘Houdini’, “stuffed into a crate and sailed across the ocean to New York City” (Bartholomew, p. 89). Barnum purchased Jumbo inexpensively because - not known to him but known to Zoo keepers in London - “the elephant had gone bonkers” (Bartholomew, p. 89). Jumbo had turn out to be such a danger that his possessors were afraid for the protection of a number of kids riding on his back. One of these rides had an asthmatic Teddy Roosevelt, who, possibly shocked by the incident, would later attacked and killed four elephants in less than five minutes while on safari in British East Africa (Bartholomew, p. 96). Jumbo was so devastated by his journey through ocean, detained within his barred enclosure, which his trainer had to get him intoxicated. In view of the fact that alcoholic drinks were previously a part his standard food, making the elephant to gulp down a few buckets of whiskey was not a difficult task. Following three years Barnum got his reward elephant, Jumbo “met his end” (Bartholomew, p. 96) during a direct collision with an ‘off-schedule locomotive’. The calamity took place as the animals were entering into the boxcars to go to the next town. A roaming circus is simply a headache and nothing else, particularly when one is using inflexible, unpredictable creatures like lions as well as elephants. However, from the centuries, circus instructors have discovered methods to make wild animals to act in accordance. Things like bull hooks, beatings, metal pipes and jolts on the head. Stuff like orderly as well as entire death of strength of mind. Evidently, trainers do so just because they are familiar with the fact that outcomes are of significance for providing amusement. They have been applying these similar techniques -with the inclusion of stun gun - from the Jumbo's time. The training of circus animals is a valuable as well as very old custom, even though carried out privately, most probably with the supposition that it is additional enjoyment to look at an elephant “put on a fez or do a headstand” (Fleming, p. 172) if one is troubled by the facts of the way that elephant arrive at such outstanding as well as deviant skills. At the moment, with the Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act (TEAPA), “and according to a bill introduced in Congress, exotic species would be banned from traveling circuses” (Fleming, p. 172). Barnum Circus has an extensive record of mistreatment of animals, mainly elephants. More or less 20 of the circus's elephants, together with four babies, have expired from its start. The USDA has continually mentioned the circus for infringements of the Animal Welfare Act, for instance, not being able to provide care to elephants for tuberculosis. PETA traced Barnum Circus workers for several months and within several American states. Ten workers, together with the chief elephant trainer as well as the animal supervisor, were filmed ‘behind the scenes’ constantly beating elephants on the head, trunk and ears with bull hooks and other nasty training gadgets just earlier than the animals would come into the ground for shows. A tiger instructor was recorded thrashing tigers throughout dress trials. Previous Barnum workers have stated that elephants are regularly maltreated as well as brutally pounded with bull hooks. Later, PETA made public dozens of images obtained from a retired Barnum trainer. The pictures expose the brutal training techniques applied on baby elephants at Barnum Circus training center. The pictures show baby elephants tied with ropes and struggled into physically hard as well as painful postures by quite a lot of adult males. As said by Burman’s ex employee, “the elephants scream, cry, and struggle as they are stretched out, slammed to the ground, gouged with bull hooks, and shocked with electric prods” (Fleming, p. 201). He further added that these aggressive training techniques are the single method an elephant can be skilled to perform in circuses. Elephants are as well chained within grimy, inadequately ventilated boxcars for an average of more than “26 straight hours - and as long as 60 to 100 hours at a time - when the circus travels” (Fleming, p. 202). Barnum has been unsuccessful to meet nominal national principles for the cure of animals presented in display as recognized by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has warned Barnum several occasions for severe AWA nonconformity, together with the following: (1) unacceptable treatment of unsafe animals; (2) not being able to offer sufficient veterinary cure to animals together with an elephant with an injured leg, an elephant with a big inflammation on leg, elephants with scratches, a camel with bleeding injuries, and a camel wounded on tracks of train; (3) causing disturbance, behavioral anxiety, bodily damage, as well as avoidable pain to two elephants who suffered wounds when they “ran amok during a performance” (Feld, p. 102); (4) putting tigers in danger as they were almost baked alive within a boxcar as a result of bad preservation of their enclosed spaces; (5) unable to test elephants for tuberculosis; and (6) contaminated feeding methods. The USDA had no less than three open inquiries of possible infringements of the AWA by Barnum. A number of animal wellbeing as well as animal privileges organizations, for instance, PETA, are not in favor to the use of untamed animals within circuses. The animal rights factions as well resist the use of domestic animals, for instance, horses or dogs, in circuses. A number of these factions aggressively drive in opposition to circuses by recording complains to raise knowledge of animal rights' infringements and to recommend circus-attendees to stay away from Barnum as well as other circuses and to support only those circuses that do not use animals. The factions assert that animals used during the circus are the victim of unkind as well as brutal handling throughout training, ruthless situations during transportation, and a common lack of psychological as well as physical encouragement. Barnum circus was inspected after the fatality of a lion, which expired from high temperature as well as lack of water as the circus train was passing from the desert. The USDA filed accusations in opposition to Barnum for making an ill elephant to perform. Barnum gave a 15000 USD fine to resolve the issue. The USDA moreover examined the loss of a four-year-old Asian elephant, who died by falling into a pond. After going through this barbaric training, the elephants were sent for a life in chains. These huge creatures of the nature are chained in for long, extensive hours. From the moment they were born, in Barnum’s breeding facility, the infant elephants were moved apart from their mothers, taught with bull hooks to carry out tricks during the circus, and kept chained. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revealed that Barnum’s regular parting of infant elephants from their mothers makes the young elephants to suffer from disturbance, performance anxiety, bodily damage, and needless pain. Nearly all scientists “who study elephants in the wild say they have never seen an elephant stand on its head or engage in many of the other unnatural acts that the animals are forced to perform in the circus” (Coup, p. 82). Still, Barnum as well as other circuses said to the viewers that these actions are innate and that the tricks are planned keeping in consideration these innate activities. As a matter of fact, the elephants undergo “days, weeks, months, and years of training” (Coup, p. 83). Circus trainers make use of a training known as ‘free contact’ to shatter the elephants’ courage and control them with power as well as terrorization. Conclusion Barnum along with other circuses is permitted to have Asian elephants in confinement since they declare to be protecting this rare species for upcoming generations. As a matter of fact, Barnum was not reproducing elephants to send them back to the wild, nor was it conserving their innate environment. Instead, Barnum was just reproducing elephants to use them in his tremendously commercial circus. Looking at elephants’ unnatural acts during a circus performance, and viewing them stand tied on concrete for hours as they lean from side to side, is not helpful in educating the community regarding the actual nature as well as ecology of these wonderful creatures, their innate environment, and the threat of annihilation that they now face. The continuous chaining as well makes these extremely sharp and social animals mentally distressed, which is evident from the elephants’ continuous movement from side to side in recurring activity, commonly known as stereotypic attitude. Conclusively, the paper included discussion on significant aspects of Phineas Taylor Barnum’s cruelty within circus. It is an expectation that the paper will be beneficial for students and professionals in better understanding of the topic. Works Cited Bartholomew, A. The Midget's House: A Circus Story... A Love Story... A Ghost Story. Bartholomew & Company, Incorporated, 2012. Coup, W. C. Sawdust & Spangles; Stories & Secrets of the Circus. BiblioBazaar, 2009. Feld, K. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus: The Greatest Show on Earth. Taylor Publishing, 1994. Fleming, C. The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P. T. Barnum. Schwartz & Wade, 2009. Hartzman, M. American Sideshow. Tarcher, 2006. Read More