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Bibliography
Bibliography
and lions travel in cages they cant even turn around in and sometimes even two cats are
crammed in one small cage. This detailed article
Kindness and Care for Animals. (2011). Circus Animal Welfare. Boston, MA: Shayle
The Animal Welfare Act is a legal protection for all circus animals that require minimum
standards of care and treatment. However circus still violate these requirements and
unfortunately they will continue to perform and not follow these requirements until laws and
regulations become stronger. Because there is so much abuse involved in circuses towards
animals, animals respond aggressively, hurting everyone around them. This helped me
understand why us, people, need to stand up for the animals and request for better care.
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. (2013). Circuses. Norfolk, VA: Charles
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) reveal that first, trainers remove big
teeth and claws of the animals. The trainers say that bullhooks, whips, electrical shock rods, bats,
metal rods and other harmful tools are used to teach them their acts. Some eve drug the animals
to make them more manageable. Bears are burned. Elephants are locked up and chained. In order
for these animals to do tricks such as standing on two legs, they are chained with their two front
legs up high for hours. Elephants nurse their babies until five years of age. However, animal
trainers remove their babies as soon as they are born and begin the cruel training. They are
chained for 23 hours to break their spirit and show them that their only leaders are the trainers.
They are smashed to the ground as they scream and cry in great pain. As I read the article it
added more information to my problem, giving more reasons why animal circuses should be
banned.
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. (2013). Three-Ring Abuse. Norfolk, VA: Azari
Aside from being confused and in pain while learning their tricks, they get severely punished if
they do not do them right in the show as they perform. Elephant Keeper, Tom Rider, testified in
court that physical punishment has always been the standard method for training. He also
mentions that an elephant in the circus he worked in was forced to lie down and was beaten by
five trainers with bullhooks because he didnt perform right in the show. (Jaynes, 2013, para.9)
Animal trainer, Archelle Hundley shared that Ringling Bros Circus believe that if they can keep
the animals afraid, they can keep them submissive.(Hundley, 2007) Video tapes caught from
PETA investigators reveal big cats are dragged by heavy chains around their necks and hit with
sticks, bears are whacked with long poles, and chimpanzees are kicked.
Sahagun, L. (2001, October 11). Elephants Pose Greater Danger. Los Angeles Times.
Circus animals are primates. Primates are animals who live in a large communities and
are tightly bonded together like a family. They travel together daily for miles. They are extremely
caring, intelligent and social creatures. When they get separated from their families, and start
getting abused daily for long periods of times they fall into depression and start getting
aggressive. In the past years elephants or other circus animals have escaped their cages, harming
their trainers, handlers and the public this is because they are full of fear to all human interaction
making them dangerous to everyone.