Don't Support Animal Circuses' Cruelty

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Animal circuses are awfully cruel to the animals that are forced to perform in them. All their lives they are confined to a crate, moving around the country, forced to perform stunts that are often painful and unnatural. Electric prods, chains, “bullhooks,” and metal rods are all used to force the animals to move, regardless of their physical state. If anyone here is planning to go to an animal circus or ever has the oppurtunity to go, I encourage you to decline the opportunity. Instead, why not go to a spectacular theatrical production or non-animal circus (i.e. Cirque de Soleil), which are excellent and aren’t cruel to animals.

For evidence of circus cruelty, please look into these sites:
PETA.com: Animals Used for Entertainment:
animalactivist.com/entertainment.asp

Carson and Barnes Circus Cruelty: peta.org/feat/atspring2002/carsonbarnes/index.html
 
Sorry this is kind of off topic to your original post. I’ve deduced from your screenname you are Catholic and Vegan (I’m such a detective). I’m just curious if you think it’s immoral to eat meat or is it for another reason that you are vegan (ie grazing land could be used to grow food for people, etc.)? Catholic teaching says it is not immoral to eat meat so how do you reconcile the two? My girlfriend is a vegetarian, but it’s just because she thinks meat is gross, not too deep. I don’t mean to attack your beliefs or anything, I’m just curious. Thanks!
 
JMJ

I don’t support animal cruelty. However, I like the circus. Is that bad?
 
Dear Genesis315,

I am vegan for purposes of ethics (that is, I am opposed to the cruelty inflicted on animals in slaughterhouses). However, there are other reasons which I also support and are simply additional reasons for my vegetarianism (i.e. world hunger, the environment, one’s health, etc). Hope that answers your question!

Dear JimmyB,

It’s not neccesarily “bad,” however, in my opinion, you ought to choose which is more important. Animals in circuses are treated so atrociously that I couldn’t put alleged enjoyment of the circus before that.
 
I don’t condone animal cruelty either, but I think I’ll save my outrage for true atrocities, i.e. abortion, euthanasia, hunger, poverty, etc.

Christ didn’t say, “Whatever you do to the least of my animals, you do to me.” :nope:
 
Not all animal circuses treat animals cruelly.

Not all PETA information shows the true side of the coin, and the Sierra Club, which I used to support uses humans as political puppts and throws them away. (I’ve personal knowledge of this in my area).

ALF released minks and other animals from an alzheimer’s research lab at the U of M a few years ago, not taking them somewhere to be “saved”, but instead just released them to the urban jungle that is Minneapolis, ensuring their deaths and the deaths of countless Alzheimer’s patients.

They further destroyed expensive laboratory equipment, effectively translating the cost to higher tuition hikes for the students at the U, some of which can’t afford it and can’t qualify for aid.

I have a friend who worked at the U for a time, and he did work study in maintenance, repairing sinks and such. He got sick of seeing “Fur is Murder” and “ALF” and “PETA” all over the exterior doors of the dorm rooms but upon entering found leather coats, boots, gloves, all out in the open.

I have no respect for these extremist groups or thier slanted literature. They’ve proven themselves time and time again to be adverse to the teachings I hold most dear, the teachings of the Church and live of human beings.

I love animals. I have rescued 4 shelter dogs and one is a greyhound, many of which are sold to research or euthanized.

But if a family member is to die of Alzheimer’s disease, I’d give up my dog in a heartbeat to save them from such a horrible death if that’s what it took.

Not all peple at all circuses treat the animals cruelly…and in fact, to do so is dangerous. Elephants are especially sensitive to poor treatment and they have very large feet which they are not afraid to use.

I oondemn the behavior those who treat animals poorly with cattle prods and the like. But the reality is that circuses do have to keep the animals happy or they simply won’t perform. They perform far better from reward than from abuse…and that has been proven again and again.

I don’t disagree that there is abuse out there, but I don’t believe the propaganda that says that all do it the same way.

I don’t mean to disparage your own personal beliefs regarding eating meat…do as you like as it is your right and it is not morally wrong to be a vegan.
 
One of the side effects of PETA’s general message is that it tends to put people and animals on the same plane. This is very dangerous because it demeans the nature of a human beings (even though they mean to raise the status of animals). We’re closer to angels than animals remember. Rober Frost had a great poem, “White Tailed Hornet” which dealt with this.
 
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Genesis315:
One of the side effects of PETA’s general message is that it tends to put people and animals on the same plane. This is very dangerous because it demeans the nature of a human beings (even though they mean to raise the status of animals). We’re closer to angels than animals remember. Rober Frost had a great poem, “White Tailed Hornet” which dealt with this.
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Also realize there is a STRONG correlation between animal rights groups and proabort groups. I have heard a number of PETA and ALF people interviewed. Invariably they come out for abortion. Ask them to explain this apparent contradiction and they come out with juvenile arguments about we have the right to do with our bodies as we wish. However we should not be controlling other animals’ bodies.

BTW I draw a big distinction between animal rights groups and animal welfare groups. I support animal welfare groups such as the greyhound adoption program someone mentioned. Animal rights groups who do inane things like releasing lab animals into the wild (where they will die miserable deaths) or demanding that we can’t keep animals as pets (please tell me many pets don’t have better lives than many humans!) make me nuts

Lisa N
 
Lisa N:
Also realize there is a STRONG correlation between animal rights groups and proabort groups. I have heard a number of PETA and ALF people interviewed. Invariably they come out for abortion. Ask them to explain this apparent contradiction and they come out with juvenile arguments about we have the right to do with our bodies as we wish. However we should not be controlling other animals’ bodies.

BTW I draw a big distinction between animal rights groups and animal welfare groups. I support animal welfare groups such as the greyhound adoption program someone mentioned. Animal rights groups who do inane things like releasing lab animals into the wild (where they will die miserable deaths) or demanding that we can’t keep animals as pets (please tell me many pets don’t have better lives than many humans!) make me nuts

Lisa N
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A while back PETA had a picture of a baby and a puppy in the road and it ask which one would you avoid hitting,you can guess what the answer was:( I am glad they took it off there but the menatlity is scary.Although true animal cruelty is seen in serial killers at an early age.I don’t think Christians are supposed to be cruel period,the Bible even said not to torture animals we are going to eat.I love animals but humans are priority,I would not ignore helping an animal in distress,but if I was in a situation that there was a human that needed assistance and an animal at the same time I would help the human and ask God to take care of the animal;) God Bless
PS LisaN I have noticed the same thing about the pro-aborts and the PETA crowd,I personally think they disparage humans in general,maybe they were hurt and want to relate to a victim or percieved victim,but not a human one.
 
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Catholicvegan:
Animal circuses are awfully cruel to the animals that are forced to perform in them. All their lives they are confined to a crate, moving around the country, forced to perform stunts that are often painful and unnatural. Electric prods, chains, “bullhooks,” and metal rods are all used to force the animals to move, regardless of their physical state. If anyone here is planning to go to an animal circus or ever has the oppurtunity to go, I encourage you to decline the opportunity. Instead, why not go to a spectacular theatrical production or non-animal circus (i.e. Cirque de Soleil), which are excellent and aren’t cruel to animals.

For evidence of circus cruelty, please look into these sites:
PETA.com: Animals Used for Entertainment:
animalactivist.com/entertainment.asp

Carson and Barnes Circus Cruelty: peta.org/feat/atspring2002/carsonbarnes/index.html
Click to expand...
I am not a vegan but I never go to a circus because of this.
Just one of my principles.

Emmy
 
I will continue to eat meat, and when once in many blue moons Ill go to a circus. the Vatican has not condemned either, therefore both are ok.
 
You can’t stereotype all circuses as being bad and abusing animals. Sure, there’s quite possibly some bad ones out there, but not all necessarily abuse their animals. We used to have a circus person on the forums–PennyPlain, I believe. Blaming all circuses for the actions of some is doing an injustice to decent ones, and an insult to the Catholics that work with the circus.
 
I do not like the circus but its becuase clowns scare me.
 
I agree with David. I’ve always considered clowns to be, for lack of a better word, freaky. John Wayne Gacy did a lot to reinforce that idea!
 
I am sure many people have had at least one scary dream of a clown, me included.
But I do believe that Circuses aren’t out there to be cruel to animals. Having inspections and people worried about animal cruelty has improved conditions for animals in circuses. Having animals in circuses probably isn’t bad as long as they are treated in a sane manner. Heck we have humans in circuses, what is wrong with animals? (as long as they aren’t mistreated)

So I believe we should support humane treatment of animals but do not go to the extreme and put them on the same level as humans.
 
If you are interested in this sort of thing, as a coincidence today I just noticed a book on the desk of a friend. Might be good reading.

It is called Dominion by an author called Scully.
 
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Catholicvegan:
Animal circuses are awfully cruel to the animals that are forced to perform in them. All their lives they are confined to a crate, moving around the country, forced to perform stunts that are often painful and unnatural. Electric prods, chains, “bullhooks,” and metal rods are all used to force the animals to move, regardless of their physical state. If anyone here is planning to go to an animal circus or ever has the oppurtunity to go, I encourage you to decline the opportunity. Instead, why not go to a spectacular theatrical production or non-animal circus (i.e. Cirque de Soleil), which are excellent and aren’t cruel to animals.

For evidence of circus cruelty, please look into these sites:
PETA.com: Animals Used for Entertainment:
animalactivist.com/entertainment.asp

Carson and Barnes Circus Cruelty: peta.org/feat/atspring2002/carsonbarnes/index.html
Click to expand...
I wholeheartedly agree. Animals are our friends. I am a vegetarian for many reasons (same ones as you). This is not one of the reasons, but it’s exploitation pure and simple. See the little monkey dance (while I buzz him with a prod) - isn’t that funny? hahaha. It’s not really funny, is it? Once you come to the realization that God didn’t put animals on this earth to use and abuse as we see fit one begins to change their views on things such as this.

Go CV!

Peace…
 
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