Circus anybody?

Have any of you ever been to a circus? Did you enjoy it? What did you or didn't you like about it?
I have a c...n phobia, so I haven't been to one, I also don't like the animal cruelty aspect. But, I do enjoy Cirque de Soleil on TV. What about you?

Re: Circus anybody?

Many many years ago I was just a girl and hated it. I couldn't understand how people could enjoy it after seeing the poor animals tethered and caged out the back, dreadful conditions and the animals just looked ill.

I guess the conditions would be better now with welfare and safety etc but I wouldn't go again that put me off for life.

Re: Circus anybody?

As a child, the circus was a HUGE event, but at some point I started to realize that the wild animals (big cats in particular) were just that and really not suitable for taming or to be kept in confined spaces.

I was repulsed by the whole thing.

Like you, Julie, it's an experience I would never wish to repeat

Re: Circus anybody?

Agree with you there Julie. Remember not long ago the case of poor Annie the ageing elephant with arthritis, and that so-called ' keeper' beating her with the hay fork. It makes my blood boil. There must have been many people rejoiced when she was finally taken away from them.

Re: Circus anybody?

I also remember being taken as a treat when a small child. I loathed it and everything about it. I hated seeing animals made to do stupid tricks and the clowns scared me witless. Would never, ever go again.

Re: Circus anybody?

You could always watch animation such as Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted . Brilliant and the 2nd half takes place in a zoo and the animals loved it .

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
iMDB Link)

There was one very memorable song in it too which I thought was amazing.

Re: Circus anybody?

Agree with everyone, just the thought of the circus sends shivers, those poor animals, its abhorrent.
Like the Canadian-French version though ....

Re: Circus anybody?

I remember seeing the circus . Any ideas I had about animal abuse date from going back stage to visit the "trained" animals
BIg cats......... lions, tigers, in little "Crates" & placed by horses, llams and so on.
How frightening that would have been ,

THe animals endurung the most were Polar Bears, crammed side by side in a foul little cage .

Anyway, I think I MUSt be echoing what you've all posted.

Re: Circus anybody?

Well this must be 'cat amongst the pigeons time', because many years ago, when I was 21, my friend and I did what all kids used to dream of. We ran away with a circus. Dickie Chipperfields as it happens. And although his one sister was notorious a few years back for the elephant incident I have nothing but praise for him and his other sister whom I worked closely with.

There was one incident in particular which demonstrates how deeply he felt for his animals. He, of course, did the 'big cat' act, and one particular element of this consisted of three panthers and three leopards; he would lay his whip on the ground, and lay down in the middle of the cage, he would call the cats, one at a time, to him, and they would lay across his body, alternating by species and direction, he would lay for a couple of minutes then instruct them to regain their stands, which they did, with absolutely no coercion. But this one matinee there had been a slight mistake on the part of the wranglers who had allowed both a female in heat and the alpha maleto be included in the troupe (obviously there were 'spare' cats for such occasions). At the end of the routine, Dicky would walk around the circle fussing each cat in turn, much in the way we have described giving our moggies head rubs, and on this occasion the alpha male took umbrage at the attention he was giving to the female in heat, and he lashed out, his claw caught Dicky's forearm and opened it from elbow to wrist.

The wranglers rushed in and got him out and the cats were immediately returned to their travelling cages, the cage dismantled and the next act rushed on. Dicky was taken to the LRI and stitched up, given antibiotics and tetanus injections and bandaged. Did he blame the cat? No he did not, although to avoid any such thing happening in the future he did arrange for a vet to come and castrate the cat that night. As for the evening performance? He was back in the ring, doing the same routine, could he have done so if his animals resented him?

And later that night when lights were out, he lay in the hay, nursing the male and actually crying, as the vet carried out the operation.

Please note that I mentioned 'Travelling' cages and that is all they are, back in their home grounds in Chipping Norton their quarters were equal to any available to animals at that time.

Want to hear something ironic? The family treated all their animals with infinitely more care and compassion than they treated any of the people who worked for them. They had the names and telephone numbers of every vet in every town they visited, but if one of their workers was ill it was just too bad, and if they missed a day off work they did not get paid.

Re: Circus anybody?

Sometimes The Circus of Horrors comes to Wookey Hole caves, I'd love to see it but there may be c...ns! No animals there. Someone was suggesting bringing a Steampunk Circus over from Europe, I'd definitely go to that! All alchemy & cogs!