Families leaving the circus at the end of its first performance at the Granaries in Floriana yesterday were met by booing from about 300 animal rights protesters. They called on the people coming out of the big top: “You should be ashamed. Is this how you educate your children?”
The activists represented about 20 animal rights NGOs forming the Animal Rights Coalition, who marched from City Gate to the entrance of the circus, only to have their voices drowned by the organisers, who raised the volume of the carols louder and louder till they reached a deafening level.
This only angered the protesters, who ran to the police barrier, jeering and shouting abuse at the organisers.
Behind the beautiful facade of the circus, lies a cruel world of untold suffering, the Animal Rights Coalition claimed.
“Circuses force animals, often through painful and punitive methods, to perform tricks that go against their innate instincts and behaviour, which factor substantial injuries during performance and training,” a spokesperson said.
The protest was backed by several personalities, like Winter Moods singer Ivan Grech, Sliema deputy mayor Cyrus Engerer, and AD chairman Michael Briguglio. The latter stressed the need for competent authorities to monitor the welfare of animals currently being used in circuses.
“Even if they are not beaten, the fact that they are closed in a small place amounts to torture,” Mr Grech said.
One protestor dressed up as a tiger, and closed in a ‘cage’, was at times let out only to be prodded by another activist to demonstrate the alleged ill treatment of animals.
People lit candles and carried soft-toys, while banners read messages like “The slave trade is alive and kicking” and “Elephants that are kept in captivity spend 95 per cent of their time chained”. Drums and whistles fought for attention with the blaring noise from the circus amplifiers.
As the circus show continued inside, the protestors shouted abuse at the organisers, who were standing at the gate. One poster read “Whips and chains belong in the bedroom”.
Apart from the occasional verbal abuse, it was a peaceful protest and some of the organisers handed out flyers to children entering the show reading “Circuses are not fun for animals”.
During a press conference earlier yesterday, organiser Silvio Azzopardi said the animals were well looked after.
“Their health, hygiene and living conditions are monitored regularly. The animals were born and bred in captivity and wouldn’t be able to fend for themselves in the wild,” he said.
The circus is the first to bring bears to Malta. In fact, during the press conference, Natasha, a 27–year-old muzzled grizzly bear was paraded by her trainer, who coolly brought her towards the crowd on a leash, looking like she was walking nothing more than an oversized Alsatian.
Mr Azzopardi, who said it was the first time he got so close to a bear, said the experience cannot be compared to seeing animals on TV. The sight, smell, and touch of the bear is what makes the whole thing so exciting, he said.
“The circus gives a chance to Maltese families who cannot afford to see such animals in another place, by for example, going on safari or to a zoo,” Mr Azzopardi said.
Journalists waited around nervously as a lioness literally bounced off the metal walls of her approximately four by two-metre cage when she apparently noticed she was going to be allowed a stroll in a moderately larger barred space.
The close rapport between the trainers and the animals is evident, Mr Azzopardi said adding that the circus was made up of a number of families, who looked after the animals.
The controversy over the circus was evident as a woman drove through a one-way sign shouting “Animals should not be kept in cages”, while honking her horn.
Circo Martin is not only about animals though. It also features trapeze, trampoline and fountain spectacles, together with jugglers and a musician.
The circus runs until January 2. Its opens as a zoo in the mornings, with lions, bears, a tiger and a hippo among other animals.