By Javier Corvalan Gazzolo,
The use of animals
in circuses is declining around the world. Especially since the increase of
studies showing the damages caused to animals by the circus life. People are
reacting to this information as well, and do not find it so palatable to watch
animals performing tricks knowing the adverse conditions which the circus
animals are living in.
The welfare problem in circuses and zoos are
physical, especially regarded to space and provision of secluded areas, social
(adequate environment and social group), and psychological, resulting from
physical and social problems. The
psychological difficulties manifest themselves in, for example compulsive
pacing and stereotypies (which can also be found in humans suffering from some
mental illness like autism), environmental vandalism, hyper aggression, self
mutilation, chronic apathy and perversion of appetite.
In circus animals in particular, the
implications are that even well run circuses nonetheless involve some adverse
welfare, almost by definition, because of constraints on space and
environmental stimulus. Since circuses
often move frequently and the animal’s accommodation has to be easily
transported: this places constraints on size and weight and thus on space allowance.
When circuses are stationary, accommodation could be more spacious, but this is
not done, partly for reasons of cost.
Local authorities have great difficulties in
controlling circuses since they move on very rapidly and there is little time
for inspection and the necessary processing of papers. Creamer & Phillips (1998), in a long
thorough undercover investigation found horrifying catalogue of vicious
cruelty, both physical and psychological. Much of the cruelty was by
individuals and could not be said to be and inevitable part of circus activity.
They could only uncover this by spending
long periods of time with the animals. Just like in humans with autism or
schizophrenia one visit from the doctor is not enough to discover these mental
illnesses produced by stress or boredom.
Circus life is entirely inappropriate for wild
animals and inevitably involves severe deprivation of essential freedoms.
The welfare issues
for circus animals can roughly be divided into five aspects, namely: (1)
accommodation, (2) transport, (3) training, (4) performance and (5) winter
accommodation. To analyse these aspects on welfare-issues I will use the five
liberties, as defined by the British animal welfare committee (Brambell 1965)
as a framework. These liberties act as a guide-line for the European policy
regarding intensively farmed animals to safeguard there welfare:
- Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition
- Freedom from discomfort due to environment
- Freedom from pain, injury and disease
- Freedom to express the normal behavioural characteristics peculiar to the species
- Freedom from fear and distress
It’s of interest
here to distinguish between welfare-violation that can be prevented, for
example not giving enough water (not giving enough water is a case of neglect)
and unavoidable welfare-violation, like transport (the transportation of
animals is inherent to the character of a circus). Unavoidable welfare
violation can be a just cause to ban circuses.
Accommodation
Domestic animals
can in general be kept in sufficient large enclosures. (However, one can
speculate whether a circus-horse should have the freedom to trot). In general
speaking, wild animals are more dangerous and more unpredictable. Therefore
there are stricter rules to their accommodation. Especially primates, bears,
elephants, lions and tigers have to pay a high price for freedom of movement;
this limits their normal behaviour (freedom 4). Also enrichment is usually not
possible: a chimpanzee likes to climb, but circus-accommodation lacks
climbing-facilities. Through such privation many circus-animals display
stereotypical or apathetic behaviour, which can be considered as mental sorrow
(freedom 5).
Transport
As long as the
duration of transport is within restricted range and the transport cages are
adequate and comfortably equipped, some will argue that this is an acceptable
aspect. Circus animals are often put on transport and it’s not known whether
they get used to it. Each time the animals gets transported they have to get
used to a new, for them hostile environment.
Training
On the subject of
teaching acts on animals there’s big controversy. Animal welfare studies show
that circus animals have been trained by means of torture instruments. There
are known, horrific cases to prove this. Moreover, with big wild animals it is
of importance that an animal trainer creates a dominant position over his
animals. Some degree of physical force seems to be unavoidable (freedom 3 &
5).
Performance
It is sometimes
stated that circuses are more animal friendly than zoos are, because they at
least seek distraction during their performances. However, then it is assumed
that they enjoy performing. That assumption is unfounded. The acts are in
general routinely and compulsive, which can cause boredom and even aversion
(freedom 5).
Winter
accommodation
The condition of
the winter accommodation is most often poorly. For domestic animals it’s quite
possible to accommodate them in good conditioned housing. For a number of
animals, in particularly wild animals, winter accommodation is problematic,
because they can not adjust to another climate. The animals are then kept in a
small enclosure so the climatic-conditions can be controlled or they are kept
outside where the climatic-conditions can not be controlled (freedom 2 &
4).
Much of the
behaviour of captive animals is bizarre in the extreme. Animals that are
deprived of their normal behaviour patterns appear to indulge in a variety of
aberrant stunts: they may be aggressive towards other animals, defecate and
make games with their faeces, masturbate, or damage themselves (birds sometimes
pluck their own feathers). None of these peculiar pieces of evidence that
captivity-let alone any direct cruelty in their training or management- strikes
some animals badly will necessarily reveal them selves in lank fur or a dulled
eye. They can easily be hidden inside a plump, sleek body which appears to be
thoroughly hale. However, the creature could still be mad, neurotic or
miserable.
We do not believe
that animals and humans share every characteristic under the sun to be able to
remember that human prisoners do not look obviously affected by their
incarceration. But we know they are not happy. And the great difference between
animals and humans that we do know about goes towards our having a clear
requirement to be doubly respectful of them: It is we cannot find out from them
what they want or feel.
*Stereotypy: Movimientos
repetitivos o ritualisticos como simples movimientos de cabeza o del cuerpo
lado a lado, o movimientos mas complejos como marchar de un lado a otro o
cruzarse de pies.
- Broom, D.M. & Johnson, K. G., 1993. “Stress and animal welfare”. Dodrecht: Kluwer academic publishers
- Creamer, J & Phillips, T.,
1998, “The ugliest show on earth:
the use of animals in circuses”.
- Bryant, J. M., 1979, “animal exploitation in human
recreation”.
- Gellatley, J., 2000, “Born to be wild”.
Javier Corvalan Gazzolo
Bsc
(hons) Animal behaviour and wildlife biology