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Ringling Bros. Truck at Comcast Arena with The Important People.
Oh, Joy! The circus came to town again in Everett, WA. This was my second year protesting at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. There were a total of 7 shows at the Comcast Arena this year:
- 1 on Thursday 8/23
- 1 on Friday 8/24
- 3 on Saturday 8/25
- 2 on Sunday 8/26
Standing Up for All Animal Slaves – 8/26/12
Why do I protest the circus?
Because I don’t think animals belong in the circus, period. Animals are not consenting performers. Animals in the circus are captive slaves. Corporate entities have no right to exploit animals for their own profit. Animals do not exist for the purpose of entertaining people.
It’s frustrating to listen to claims that ignorant people make– that circus animals are “all treated with great love and attention.” I don’t know whether to laugh, cry or bash my head against the wall when I hear that!
“Treatment” is not the issue for me. No degree of welfare regulation will ever make it okay to dominate elephants, big cats and other animals for a life of servitude. These animals deserve the right to live their own lives. Just like “humane meat” is an oxymoron, so is the fantasy concept of a humane animal circus.
My Sign (Photo Credit – Tim Sage)
However…
- Cruel treatment IS a reality and has been well documented. Check out www.ringlingbeatsanimals.com
- Circus training techniques are inherently abusive.
- The tour schedule and travel logistics alone are inherently cruel.
Think about #3, the tour schedule for a circus animal…
“Circus animals” (elephants, big cats, horses, llamas, and goats) are on the road week after week, month after month, and year after year. Each tour city has multiple show dates. Between shows, the animals travel to the next city.
We are all well aware of how stressful tour schedules can be for human performers in music, right? Yet, even human stage performers don’t go on tour year after year, for their whole lives.
Now that the show in Everett is over, the “Gold Tour” will continue traveling on…
Kent, WA…8/31 – 9/03
Nampa, ID…9/07 – 9/09
Portland, OR…9/13 – 9/16
Billings, MT…9/20 – 9/23
Bismarck, ND…9/28 – 9/30
Des Moines, IA…10/04 – 10/07
Peoria, IL…10/12 – 10/14
Champaign, IL…10/19 – 10/21
Bethlehem, PA…10/25 – 10/28
Wilkes Barre, PA…11/01 – 11/04
Meanwhile, 2 other groups of voluntary human performers and involuntary animal performers are traveling in other parts of the U.S. in the “Blue Tour” and “Red Tour.” It looks like these money-making tours will never end.
This nightmare for animals won’t end unless caring people will make a stand en masse. People everywhere need to show up at the circus arenas in protest– refusing to support, refusing to fund, refusing to attend these barbaric shows.
Now…
Read how Ringling Bros. performs some moral gymnastics…attempting to bend, twist and stretch blatant animal cruelty into a benign form of “happy” family entertainment. The following quoted excerpts are from the Animal Care FAQ page of the www.ringling.com website. My questions and comments are indicated by the >>>>
“Ringling Bros. exceeds all federal animal welfare standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Animal Welfare Act.”
>>>> If that is true, then how come Ringling was slapped with the largest penalty in circus history? (Click the link to learn more.)
“They [staff] meet the animals’ physical needs with nutritious foods and regular veterinary attention and their mental needs by providing a stimulating environment.”
>>>> View this video of an elephant swaying neurotically. Is this the behavior of a thriving animal? (Footage was taken by a fellow protester at the Everett show.)
An elephant is under the blue awning. Comcast Arena is a stimulating environment for animals. (Photo credit – Tim Sage)
Close-up of the elephant under the blue awning. (Photo credit – Tim Sage)
“In arenas where space permits, our animal facility is outdoors and in the full view of the public.”
Comcast Arena covered up the holes in the wall with wood during the Ringling show…so that the public could have “full view” of the animal facilities. (Photo credit – Tim Sage)
That black material is not usually on the gate. It was put there so that the animal facility at Comcast Arena would remain in “full view” of the public. (Photo credit – Tim Sage)
”Our animals are great performers, because their routines are tailored to each animal’s natural abilities and individual preferences which we observe during their playtime. Reinforced through a system of reward and repetition, these abilities and behaviors are linked together on cue which ultimately becomes the routine that you see at a Ringling Bros. Circus.”
Mother Jones Article – December 2011
December 2011 Mother Jones article – “The Cruelest Show on Earth”
Read the Mother Jones article here.
“We can’t say it enough: Ringling Bros. loves animals as much as you do!”
>>>> Wrong. Ringling can “say it” all they want, but a lie is still a lie. Actions speak much, much louder than words. Love and exploitation cannot coexist. The only thing that Ringling “loves” is the money that the animals bring.
Boycott the Circus! The guy holding that sign told me that he saw my “Abolish Slavery” sign from a car he was riding in. He asked his friend to drop him off so that he could join the protest. Great guy! (Photo credit – Tim Sage)
I am for abolition! (Photo credit – Tim Sage)
GO VEGAN.
Only *YOU* can stop the unnecessary exploitation of sentient beings.
As long as animals are made to perform in the circus…there will be people protesting the circus!
Buzz, buzz, bzzzz…I’m still buzzing from my first experience doing the flying trapeze! WOW. What an exhilarating experience! First of all, thank you, Facebook… because it was a friend on Facebook who invited me along. We’d never met in person until today. Now we’re “real” friends and not just “Facebook friends.” (Gotta love the modern vernacular, huh?)
Until recently, I’d never even heard of the School of Acrobatics New Circus Arts (SANCA) in Seattle. What a fun place. Animals don’t belong in the circus, but people do! I didn’t know that getting on the flying trapeze was on my “bucket list” until today! (Technically, I don’t have a bucket list, but I think I might just start one. After all, I’m already into my 40’s. Time’s a ticking.) Yes, the flying trapeze is definitely bucket list material.
The whole time I was there, I was nervous and excited and shaking and giddy. My face is tired from using my grinnin’ muscles. (It probably didn’t help that I had a non-dairy espresso drink during the drive there!) The class was small– only 3 of us– so we had plenty of “air” time. I’m probably going to be sore from using muscles (i.e distal hamstrings) that haven’t been used that way for decades. Let’s see…the last time I swung upside down by my knees on a bar was in elementary school, on the playground…around 1980!
First, I learned how to take off (“Ready, HUP!”), swing out, bring my legs up on the bar, and swing upside down by my knees (“knee hang”):
Then, I learned how to have the instructor “catch” me. Here’s the instructor getting set up:
And here’s me in action:
I’m looking forward to going back again!
Freeheel Vegan 