Many people are fascinated by the tricks that circus animals perform. Some of these tricks include standing on their heads, balancing on a pedestal, leaping through rings of fire and jumping through hoops (Circuses:Three Rings of Abuse). Although these tricks may seem fascinating, they are harmful and torturous towards the animals. Lets have a look at what circus animals are forced to do.
Here, you can see a an elephant balancing on a barrel. Conisdering the amount of balance the heavy elephant must have to succomb to, we can just imagine how hard it was to successfully perform this trick, as it is not a natural movement for elephants.
We can see a bear walking down a rod on his two back paws, with a muzzle strapped around it's snout. Walking on 2 paws, standing up, is not a regular movement for bears to do. This requires a lot of training to successfully perform.
Although the image looks aesthically pleasing, the trick comes with great danger. There is a risk of an animal burning themselves while learning and performing how to jump through the hoop.
Throughout this website, you will be able to learn about how animal circuses are really handled, as well as what happens to the wild animals inside and outside of the circus industry.
The next couple pages will look at the treatment of circus animals, their living conditions, what happens to these animals when their service at the circus is done, and the laws and bans placed on animal circuses in different regions. Click the links below in order to gain knowledge on these subjects.