Animals Should Never Have to Perform Again - Research Paper Example

Animals Should Never Have to Perform Again In the novel “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen there are a series of details that concern the way in which animals might have been treated in the circus.1 The truth, however, is more incredible than even a novel might have described. One of the aspects of the circus that is most often the source of controversy is the exploitation that is evident of both the performers and the animals that are used for entertainment. Because the circus was often comprised of many families who would pass on their performing skills from one generation to the next, the opportunities for exploitation were thick. More so than even the human exploitation, however, was the existence of use and abuse of the animals that the circus used for performing. This type of abuse could sometimes be defined by a cruelty that has rarely been seen in other sections of society. In order to properly discuss the abuses within the circus, it is important to first understand what defines a circus. A circus is a performing group of entertainers who provide a variety of acts for their audience. There are some distinctions between the traditional circus and contemporary circuses. The traditional circus was most often run by a family which took in more people and developed familial relationships through the common elements of feelings of being outsiders to the traditional world. Acts within the circus often are passed down through families from one generation to the next. Acts were divided into three main categories: clown, physical, and strength. However, the fourth type of act was the animal act, began to decline during the 1960’s. The performances within the traditional circus were usually not linked through any sort of narrative.2 The contemporary circus is more of an echo of the traditional circus. The most commonly known circus performances are now under the Cirque du Soleil groupings of entertainment which is more a modern reflection than a true recreation of a circus. The one significant element that has changed is that there are no animals within the Cirque du Soleil shows.3 The exploitive nature of the circus is completely eliminated as performers are well trained and are treated like any other actors. Cirque du Soleil has even lost the traveling aspect of the circus as it is now hosted in many permanent venues that show a variety of incarnations of the original show. However, the one aspect of the show that provides the most important connection to the original concept of the circus is that most of the performances show incredible feats of skill that are not commonly seen. Sideshows by the Seashore is performed at Coney Island in New York. This show is defined by the sideshows that could be found at the circus which featured people who were considered odd or who had odd skills. These features could include being overweight, a woman with a beard, dwarfism, the ability to swallow a sword, or to play with fire. Sideshows could be seen at carnivals or at the circus and were generally outside the main performance tents. The Coney Island show was developed in 1985 by Dick Zigan in order to preserve the concept of the sideshow.4 While the sideshow was the most traditionally exploitive of the human performers, there was also a sense of belonging that came with being part of a group of people who were perceived to not it into society and Zigon’s recreation celebrates that society. As well, Jim Rose who developed Jim Rose Circus brought his group into nightclub venues, celebrating the traditional sideshow elements of the bed of nails, eating glass, the human pincushion, and twenty total acts to amaze and sometimes disgust an audience. Where Cirque du Soleil took traditional concepts and stepped them up to a whole different level, Jim Rose took traditional ’freak’ acts into a non-traditional venue.5 Just as Gruen discussed in her novel, Water for Elephants: A Novel, both human performers and animal performers have been exploited within the circus. One of the most common ways that humans were exploited was through the traditions of red lighting. Red lighting is a practice that allowed for a performer or worker in a circus to be pushed out of a moving train most often to avoid paying them for their work.6 However, current practices that can still be found in the East consist of stealing or selling of children to circuses as slaves. This can still be found as a common practice in places like Nepal and India.7 As horrible as the human exploitation could be, the cruelty and abuse of animals has been the source of legislation and intervention because of the extreme measures that have been witnessed as being used by animal trainers in the circus. Since the 1970’s, legislation has been put into place within the United States and the United Kingdom in order to provide protection for animals who are used as performers. These pieces of legislation have increased the costs and made it very difficult for circuses to continue to use animals. As well, the public awareness has increased the scrutiny under which the circus must endure in order to use animals in their acts. This also resulted in decreases in ticket sales which have made the use of animals within the traveling circus an almost undesirable form of entertainment for the circus to maintain.8 One of the more current public examples of a case of cruelty was done by Mary Chipperfield in the U.K. Chipperfield, whose animals were commonly used in film and television, was suppose to be one of the best examples of humane training. However, through films secretly taken by Animal Defenders and presented to the Circus Advisory Group as part of the All Party Animal Welfare Committee proved that cruel and harsh methods had been used to train a chimpanzee and an elephant under her care. Chipperfield was arrested and prosecuted for her actions.9 Because of the proven methods of cruel treatment that have been used within the circuses across Europe and the United States, the use of animal acts has diminished to almost nothing and provided for the reinvention of the circus through entertainment groups who use only human performers. One of the central questions to the use of animals within performances is whether or not the use itself is an abuse, despite humane methods of training. Animals that are used for entertainment purposes do not have any sort of usual life. Therefore, since they are not able to give consent to this sort of life, the question becomes whether or not this type of use is ethical. There was a time when the only way to see exotic animals was in zoos and through the circus. However, information has become so readily available that it has become questionable as to whether education and exposure to exotic animals must be done through their capture and use.10 Of course, the abuse of elephants has been a great concern throughout the world as elephants have been shown to have long memories and have a great sense of attachment. The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee has a story about an elephant named Jenny who became agitated and excited when an elephant named Shirley showed up in the sanctuary. Jenny had known Shirley for a short time twenty years earlier, but still remembered her when they were reunited.11 Despite the wonder and intelligence of these magnificent creatures, just since 1992 there have been more than 19 deaths of elephants in the Ringling Bros Circus, one of the most famous circuses in the United States. Outside of abuse charges, which do account for some of the deaths and required a settlement of a fine of 20,000 dollars in 1998, some of the animals died because of the extreme stress the tricks put on their bodies.12 Pierre Parisien, artistic director of Cirque du Soleil, has declared that no animal will ever be used within the Cirque du Soleil shows.13 Anyone who has seen one of the performances of Cirque du Soleil knows that the use of animals is not necessary in order to provide entertainment that is wondrous and amazing. The exploitation of human workers is terrible, but the abuse of animals is even worse as these creatures have no voice through which to bring attention to their great injuries. The abuse has led to mental illnesses which have resulted on the animals turning on their trainers.14 There is no good reason for a circus in this time to use animals as performers. The ethical tradeoff that is made is not worth whatever perceived benefit may exist. Animals should not be used simply for entertainment. Bibliography Aronowitz, Alexis A. Human Trafficking, Human Misery: The Global Trade in Human Beings. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2009. Print. Gangy, Tony. Carny Sideshows: Weird Wonders of the Midway. New York: Citadel Press, 2010. Print. Grant, Catharine. The No-Nonsense Guide to Animal Rights. Oxford: New Internationalist, 2006. Print. Gruen, Sara. Water for Elephants: A Novel. Crows Nest, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin, 2007. Print. Hill, Dee J, and Phil Hollenbeck. Freaks and Fire. Brooklyn, N.Y: Soft Skull Press, 2004. Print. Osnes, Beth, and Sam Gill. Acting: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2001. Print. Peacock, Louise. Serious Play: Modern Clown Performance. Bristol, UK: Intellect, 2009. Print. Scigliano, Eric. Love, War, and Circuses: The Age-Old Relationship between Elephants and Humans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print. Simmons, Laurence. Knowing Animals. Leiden [u.a].: Brill, 2007. Print. Stoddart, Helen. Rings of Desire: Circus History and Representation. Manchester [u.a].: Manchester Univ. Press, 2000. Print. Tully, Jim. Circus Parade. US: Albert and Charles Boni, 1927. Print. Read More