Circusses may be fun but not for everyone, 20 animal welfare NGOs are stressing in a bid to highlight the animal cruelty behind the scenes where they are forced to live in captivity and subjected to continuous maltreatment.
"The word 'circus' evokes images of popcorn, candy, 'wild' animals, and fun. But behind its glitter lies a cruel world of untold animal suffering. Animals used in circuses are unwilling participants in a show that jeopardises their health and mental well-being," the NGOs said.
The organisations launched a campaign "Animal Circus = Cruelty" yesterday to raise awareness of the suffering of animals in circuses in view of the animal circus performing in Malta over the Christmas period.
The campaign started off with information stands at City Gate, Valletta, highlighting the cruelty that goes on beyond the curtains.
"Circuses force magnificent creatures to perform tricks that have nothing to do with how they behave in the wild. They are sometimes injured in the process: for example, tigers, who naturally fear fire, have been burned jumping through flaming hoops.
"Training animals to perform acts that are sometimes painful, or that they do not understand requires whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods and other unpleasant tools," the spokeswoman for the NGOs, Marica Mizzi, said.
"Circuses claim to use what is known as positive reinforcement and to base their tricks on behaviour that animals carry out naturally. If this were true, however, the trainers would be carrying bags of food treats, not a whip, or a metal weapon."
The NGOs pointed out that animals in circuses also travelled long distances. During transport and between performances, tigers, who in the wild would wander around 75 to 2,000 square miles, are kept in cages, with barely enough room to turn around. They are forced to eat, sleep and defecate in the same trailers where they can be kept for stretches of over 24 hours, Ms Mizzi pointed out.
Circus schedules are created to maximise attendances, not to accommodate the animals from which they profit. Some of the many circuses that use animals travel for as many as 48 weeks of the year, covering thousands of miles. Some circuses go to warmer countries in the summer, even though the animals may suffer in extreme temperatures. These factors exacerbate the already stressful conditions caused by confinement and transport.
"Even if conditions were improved and humane training methods were used, the fact remains that keeping wild animals in captivity means deprivation," Ms Mizzi pointed out.
"Elephants, tigers, chimpanzees and other animals used in circuses are complex creatures, not robots to be stacked in boxes and hauled to the next show. Animals have relationships with other members of their species and would naturally live in social groups, or families. They value exploring their environment, nurturing their young, courting and mating, and playing with others. However, in captivity, they are prevented from doing these things, and instead, live a life based on human wants and whims."
Ms Mizzi explained that lives of constant confinement and frustration of natural instincts force animals into a state of neurosis: elephants in circuses constantly sway back and forth in their chains, and tigers constantly pace in their cages.
The NGOs insisted that these animals belong in their natural environments - not in arenas and parking lots. They said that those who go to circuses under the pretext that they are animal lovers are actually supporting animal cruelty.
"By supporting animal-free entertainment and not going to circuses that use animals, we can move towards an end to the use of animals in circuses," they said.
The 20 NGOs include World Animal Consience, Moviment Graffitti, Animal Rights Group, Abandoned Animals Association, Hakuna Matata, International Animal Rescue, Island Sanctuary Association, Nature Trust, Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary, SOS Animal Malta, St Francis Foundation for Animals, Stray Animals Support Group, Subculture, Vegetarian Society of Malta, Yelp for Help, Alternattiva Demokratika Zghazagh, Animal Rights Malta, Ananda Marga, Catcare Society and Cetfree.
For more information visit www.animalrightsmalta.com