It was almost a battle of the bands in Floriana yesterday evening, with screeching whistles by animal welfare protestors against the merry tunes coming from outside the tent of the aquatic circus.
A boisterous band was playing to welcome the spectators to the circus, which opened yesterday, but was directly facing the protestors and the two factions seemed to be trying to outdo each other.
The group from the Circus Animal Rights Coalition, which braved the biting cold, was staging a demonstration against cruelty to animals in circuses. Representing 14 animal welfare and environmental organisations and other lobby groups, they held posters equating animal circuses to animal cruelty and slavery.
But inside the tent, the show went on and organisers said ticket sales were good.
Asked whether they had been affected by the fact that a number of schools had refused to take children to the circus and that over 1,500 signatures were collected in just two school days from students and teachers who do not agree that animals should be used in such shows, Silvio Zammit, from JS Productions, claimed the children were "forced" to sign the petition.
On the contrary, attendance from schools was higher this year, he said, shrugging off the number of signatories as an insignificant percentage of the entire population.
The coalition had said the circus included penguins and hippos but Mr Zammit said it involved the participation of pelicans, snakes, penguins, crocodiles and piranhas, which did not perform tricks, but were just there to be seen.
He insisted that they were certified by vets to be in good health and fit to travel. The necessary permits were in hand and everything was in accordance with EU and Maltese regulations, he said.
The protestors had a right to demonstrate in a democratic country but they were a minority, he said, adding that the rest of the population also had the right to go to the circus.
With regard to the maltreatment of animals in circuses, he asked who in his right mind word harm his own animals.