18. Wild Animals in the Cirus: Hannah's 2017 Advent Calendar

WIld Animals

A man put his arm and his head into the lion's mouth, all the spectators looking on so attentively that a breath
could not be heard. That was impressive, its effect on a thousand persons, more so than the thing itself.
— Nathaniel Hawthorne

In the beginning was the horse, and the horse was good.

But soon American circuses began to also feature exciting wild animals. This was the first and only exposure to these creatures that was available to the public until the advent of zoos.

Roar! Growl! Look dangerous!

The ways animals were displayed in circuses, the acts they were trained to perform, reflected society's changing norms. Lion tamers originally used props, guns with blanks and whips with poppers. They trained the lions and tigers to growl and lunge and generally made it look like the lion tamer was dominating a ferocious enemy.

No, show them how much you love me.

When people started empathizing with the cats, "tamers" became "trainers" and lost the guns and whips, demonstrating a bond of affection and acting more like choreographers than conquerors.

And show a little dignity.

Wild animals like monkeys, bears, and seals were once treated as clowns imitating humans, but their acts evolved to be more dignified and were based on natural behaviors applied to circus props. Well, within limits.

The ways animals were trained also evolved with our attitudes about animals.

I don't teach them the tricks—they teach me.
—Venko Lilov, animal trainer explaining positive reinforcement techniques

Animal abuse

Circuses maintained that their animals were pampered performers, well fed, protected, given much more stimulation and exercise than animals in zoos. Cats performed best when there was a large, excited crowd. This was said by some to indicate that cats like performing. And, of course, large cats are far from helpless creatures. They could, and sometimes did, attack their trainers if the cats were not content.

PETA and other animal activists charged that animals in zoos and circuses were suffering.

Longevity studies comparing circus, zoo, and wild animals have been challenged, but clearly living in the wild is healthiest... assuming poaching and habitat loss can be controlled. Which is a big assumption.

There is an argument to be made that animal rights activists and circuses could have worked together to ensure humane treatment as was done in Hollywood ("No animals were harmed in the making of..."), but activists were convinced that the travel, living conditions, and training were inherently cruel. They picketed circuses and advertised their position. Circuses dismissed activists instead of trying to dialog with them.

In 2000, 80% of Americans polled believed animals belonged in circuses. In 2009 PETA released an undercover video of a Ringling elephant training session that shocked people. By 2015 69% of Americans were concerned.

Also, today the cost of traveling with elephants and wild animals has made doing so almost impossible, especially since there is huge competition for leisure time and dollars.


		Trace the evolution of animal acts in circuses in the Mammoth but Mesmerizing Major Milestones. Stars have included:
		Pioneer trainer Isaac Amburgh Animal dealer and gentler Carl Hagenbeck Blonde Mabel Stark Ferocious Clyde Beatty French Alfred Court Rock-star Gunther Gebel-Williams And star animals like Jumbo and Gargantua
		And consider "Circus Animals: 10 Reasons the Show Must Go On" a Huffpost United Kingdom blog.


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