And the animal issue rears it’s head in the circus industry once again. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune, The owner of the Ringling Bros. circus has agreed to pay a $270,000 fine to settle allegations that it violated federal animal-welfare laws in its handling of elephants, tigers, zebras and other exotic animals. The U.S. [...]
This month, a ban on wild animals in traveling circuses is expected to go into affect in the UK. According to a recent BBC report, the ban: Will affect the UK’s three remaining travelling circuses that use wild animals. Performers at Circus Mondao, which is being staged in Prescot until Sunday, claim their animals are [...]
Seventy-two-year-old Julius von Uhl is a retired circus performer. He began working with animals at the age of 12 in Hungary and he traveled to the US over 50 years ago to start a career in the entertainment business. von Uhl eventually purchased an African elephant named Twiggy, six tigers and four lions. He would [...]
Hot off the press: Ringling scores victory over accusations of elephant abuse. On Wednesday, December 31, 2009, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The case is American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. This case went [...]
We’ve all heard the circus animal debate before. Exotic animal stunts were hugely successful during the golden age of the circus, before mass media and the rise of modern animal rights, but for some, such acts don’t have a place in the modern circus. Le Grande Cirque belongs to the new wave of circus groups [...]
The UniverSoul Circus has reinvented the modern day circus, incorporating elements of America’s black culture. It has provided a space to combine vaudeville and hip hop, and they’ve been performing under the big top since 1994. While their efforts to expand the circus’s cultural influences have gained notoriety, their treatment towards animals is another story. [...]
This week, The Onion satirized animal maltreatment in circuses with an article titled, “Children of All Ages Delighted By Enslavement of Topsy The Elephant.” In my opinion, this is a definite sign that the use of exotic animals in circuses has fallen out of favor with the general public. Get with the times Ringling! Read [...]
This week, officials will discuss banning circuses that use exotic animals in their acts at the Cairns Regional Council meeting. The policy up for debate would refuse any application for the use of council land for any event exhibiting non-native animals, including circuses. A recent poll of local residents indicates that 59% of respondents support [...]
On May 4, Ángel Cristo passed away. He was a Spanish lion tamer who rose to great fame in the 70s and 80s. As is often the case for circus performers, Cristo’s parents were circus folk as well; his mother was a contortionist and his father was a trapeze artist. However, this family legacy may [...]
By now, you already know that there is quite a buzz around potential maltreatment of circus animals. But this discussion is not just taking place in the US and other countries are starting to take action. Earlier this month, Bolivia enacted a ban on all use of circus animals. With government assistance, circus animals are [...]