Protesters target animal treatment at Shire Circus
Approximately 30 protesters gathered nearby, with much of their rallying cries revolving around the use of whips and bullhooks in training.
Due in part to pressure from spectators, elephants in circuses across the world are being phased out. World-famous circus acts Barnum Bailey and the Ringling Bros. announced in March that they would stop using elephants starting in 2018.
Calling for an end to all animal acts
Michele Thorn, who organized the protest with the Ottawa Animal Defense League, said elephants represent only a part of the problem.
“They’re also not getting rid of all their animals — they’re still going to use camels and other animals in those circuses,” said Thorn. “However, what it tells me is that we are … having an impact.”
In 2013, the fifth year Thorn had organized circus protests, she shot video that led to charges against the then-chair of the Capital Shrine Club after he put a protester into a headlock. The charges were dropped after the official wrote a letter of apology.
Lexy Scott, an attendee who planned to protest all seven shows, agreed that the removal of all animals is the goal.
“Even the horse and ponies, which some other people may not object to in a circus … we want all animals out of the act,” she said. “They whip the ponies, they train them just as harshly to learn tricks.”
Additionally, she said the animals used in the show are wild and are not meant to be used as circus attractions.
“What values are parents teaching their children by bringing them to a circus to basically laugh, be entertained and sometimes even mock beautiful wild animals for being tortured and ‘trained’ to perform tricks that they would not normally do in the wild?”
Ringmaster defends circus breeding and conservation role
But Richard Curtis, ringmaster and performance director of circus facilitator TZ Productions, said the elephants were not captured in the wilderness.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions that they’ve been taken from the wild,” he said. “They were born and bred in captivity, captive breeding programs, conservation programs.”
He said the circus makes a point of acting as an “ambassador” for the two Asian elephants it uses, informing the crowds that the species has been in decline, with two-thirds of the population “vanishing in the last five years.”
“We like to think we’re doing our own little part to support them,” Curtis said.
Acrobatics and stunts take centre stage
Although admitting that the two elephants, the miniature Stallion, the Gypsy Vanner and six Arabian horses they have are “staples of the circus,” he said the majority of the show involved human performers, including a flying trapeze act and motorcyclists riding in a “giant ball of steel.”
This, said Thorn, is exactly what the circus should showcase.
“They could certainly have a nice show without animals,” she said. “Animals don’t deserve to have that kind of life.”
Quick look
- 30 protesters rallied outside the RA Centre Friday afternoon
- Two Asian elephants, horses and ponies remain part of the Shrine Circus acts
- Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey ended elephant performances in 2018 after public pressure
Read more story about the protest
Group members: Skyla, Jude and Miki
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Animal rights activists angered with Shrine Circus arrival into Ottawa, claims animals are being misused.
Animal Rights Activists against Shrine Circus – “We want animals out of the act!”
Soical media copy: Animal Rights Activists against Shrine Circus – “We want animals out of the act!”
At a Shrine Circus, more than 30 protesters showed up, angered by the use of animals in the show. The protestors claimed the animals were being misused and called for them to be removed from the circus.
“They could certainly have a nice show without animals,” said Michele Thorn. “Animals don’t deserve to have that kind of life.”
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