Circus Countdown - Less than one month!!
Houston, thankfully, is moving forward. Looking to our landmarks, seeing potential, and working for years to make it happen. Take the Bayou for instance. What a mess that was thirty years ago! It was an area to be avoided, with a horrendous stench.
Now. Ah! It’s lovely. Kayaks, picnickers, grass, flowers.
It’s amazing what a city can do, when it looks at something that “has always been” and says “we can do better”.
This is the approach that Houston has got to take in regards to the circus.
Oh, the circus!
Good clean family fun.
Escape the heat, go and see people and animals performing amazing tricks.
This year there are a staggering fourteen performances.
The people, well, they can choose to perform these tricks, these feats of acrobatic skill. But the animals? I wonder if anyone actually thinks whether the animals really want to be involved.
When I was little, I remember going to the circus. My mom had an aversion to it; she didn’t like the dogs in skirts, the whips around the horses, the filth of it all. But I went. I remember the smell. It was overwhelming. We sat pretty close to the front. I thought the trapeze artists were truly amazing. But then the animals came out. I distinctly recall a lump in my throat as the elephants went by holding each other’s tails, the streams of tears coming from their eyes.
The whips.
The shouts.
The sticks.
The fire.
And those dreadful clown!
I hated it.
I never went back.
But why did I hate it?
Some childhood sensitivity?
I don’t think so.
It was as obvious to me at six as it is to me today that this is a barbaric spectacle that has got to end. Gone are the days of the freak shows with people who twisted with deformities are subjected to ridicule and persecution.
But the circus remains.
Following is an excerpt from the Elephant Whisperer Darren Barnes on the websiste Circus News. It is an in depth account of how to train an elephant.
Come on along for some good family fun, don’t forget the kiddies!
“Kettiazhikkal, is when a new mahout is introduced to an elephant. The mahout will bring the elephant under control by using restraining devices at his or her disposal. The mahout will subject the elephant to torture and beatings, often hurling verbal abuse at the elephant in an attempt to scare the elephant into submission. When breaking an elephant, one front leg and the opposite rear leg are chained and secured to "tying-off" points. Two more elephant section personnel or mahouts will approach the elephant and commence stirring up and disturbing the elephant, encouraging the elephant to attack them. The trainer, or intended mahout, will then commence giving the elephant verbal commands and if the elephant disobeys (which, of course, it naturally will) then the other handlers or mahouts will proceed to attack and beat the elephant with whatever restraining devices are at their disposal. This continues until the elephant becomes exhausted and gradually stops resisting, showing a willingness to learn and thus obey the trainers commands. The elephant must be able to see which restraining device is causing the pain. This ensures the submissiveness of the elephant later on when it is approached by a handler, mahout or trainer carrying a particular restraining device, fearful and well aware of the pain that the restraining device is capable of dishing out. As I mentioned before, the same practice occurs in circus, wildlife park and zoo environments around the world, - it's just the way things are done.”
http://circusnews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=934
Now, let me ask you something. If you saw this going on in your neighbor’s backyard with his dog, what would you do? Would you yell at him to stop? Would you call the police? You would have a right to, since we have animal cruelty laws. But as the Elephant Whisperer says – it’s just the way things are done.
It’s always been this way.
People always had slaves.
Men always beat their wives.
Parents always beat their kids.
Just because a “wrong” has always existed, does not, simply because it is commonplace, somehow make it right. Just because it is commonplace for slaves to be traded at the town center, does not make it right. And just because something is happening in private, behind closed doors, out of public view, does not make it “none of our business”. Just because someone can close his front door and beat his wife, does not make it ok. It affects us all. Because it is wrong.
It might not be any of our business in some sense of the words, but it is, in face, all of our business. Because that woman must interact with society, the kids that have witnessed this abuse must interact with society, the abuser must interact with society. And those interactions with undoubtedly end up negative if no one gets involved.
But you don’t see that at the circus, do you? You don’t see tigers and lions paws being cut so they stand on their back legs. You don’t see the blowtorches, the electric cattle prods, the shock collars, the bull hooks sunk into these animals. That behavior isn’t exhibited under the big top. And why is that? If it is acceptable, common place, a “must” in the arena of animal handling? Why not be overt about it?
Because they know it is wrong.
It is wrong to punch primates in the face.
From the Animal Defenders International:
“We had eyewitness accounts of:
Horses and ponies being repeatedly whipped about the body and face during training;
Elephants hooked viciously with metal hooks, and being beaten mercilessly with metal bars, brooms, shovels, even pieces of old plumbing;
Camels beaten in the face with fiberglass rods;
Animals punched, kicked, and screamed at – screaming can make a full-grown lioness urinate with fear;
Lions and tigers beaten with metal bars and tent poles.
Horses and ponies spending up to 96% of the time tied on short ropes and in stalls and time in the ring is strictly controlled and restricted. The horses and ponies were shown to have a twelve inch tether from a loop at the front of their stall.
Tigers and lions spending between 75-99% of their time in their traveling cages, on the back of transporters, in severely cramped conditions.
Elephants were shown to be spending 70-98% of their time chained to the ground by two legs, only able to take one step forwards and one backwards.”
http://www.ad-international.org/media_centre/videos.php?g=1&page=1
Good clean family fun. Don’t forget the cotton candy!
It is wrong to beat animals mercilessly. It is wrong to imprison them for up to 99% of their time. We are the stewards to the dependent beings on this planet, not their torturers.
What is the point of the circus? That some three-toothed, scrubby man in a threadbare costume can control huge majestic beasts? That a short, uneducated greasy guy can force a massive animal to stand on its forehead, or place its front feet on the back of the animal in front of it? Have you seen these people?
Shudder.
Is there some point I’m missing?
There is no educational value to this.
There is no gain to our city, except that once again we have a show for a multi-week engagement that relies solely on the torture and cruelty to our dependent animals for financial gain. We have seen repeatedly that Houstonians respond to entertainment that involves no wild animal performance. We see that circus bans are spreading not just across our country, but across the rest of the planet.
It is time, Houston. It is time to say “no thanks” to the traveling carnage known as the circus. There are plenty of sanctuaries with space available for these animals to retire.
It’s the least we can do.
As the kind compassionate people I know us to be.
Protest Schedule as follows:
Park at the strip center parking lot off Kirby just past Reliant Stadium. There's a sandwich shop there, park facing the street. We have signage, bring water and dress for the heat. A hat is suggested. I will have more details at the beginning of the month.
July 14 Friday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 15 Saturday 11:30 AM ARRIVE AT 9:30am
July 15 Saturday 3:30 PM ARRIVE AT 1:30
July 15 Saturday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 16 Sunday 5:30 PM ARRIVE AT 3:30
July 18 Tuesday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 19 Wednesday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 20 Thursday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 21 Friday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 22 Saturday 11:30 AM ARRIVE AT 9:30am
July 22 Saturday 3:30 PM ARRIVE AT 1:30
July 22 Saturday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 23 Sunday 1:30 PM ARRIVE AT 11:30am
July 23 Sunday 5:30 PM ARRIVE AT 3:30
Houston, thankfully, is moving forward. Looking to our landmarks, seeing potential, and working for years to make it happen. Take the Bayou for instance. What a mess that was thirty years ago! It was an area to be avoided, with a horrendous stench.
Now. Ah! It’s lovely. Kayaks, picnickers, grass, flowers.
It’s amazing what a city can do, when it looks at something that “has always been” and says “we can do better”.
This is the approach that Houston has got to take in regards to the circus.
Oh, the circus!
Good clean family fun.
Escape the heat, go and see people and animals performing amazing tricks.
This year there are a staggering fourteen performances.
The people, well, they can choose to perform these tricks, these feats of acrobatic skill. But the animals? I wonder if anyone actually thinks whether the animals really want to be involved.
When I was little, I remember going to the circus. My mom had an aversion to it; she didn’t like the dogs in skirts, the whips around the horses, the filth of it all. But I went. I remember the smell. It was overwhelming. We sat pretty close to the front. I thought the trapeze artists were truly amazing. But then the animals came out. I distinctly recall a lump in my throat as the elephants went by holding each other’s tails, the streams of tears coming from their eyes.
The whips.
The shouts.
The sticks.
The fire.
And those dreadful clown!
I hated it.
I never went back.
But why did I hate it?
Some childhood sensitivity?
I don’t think so.
It was as obvious to me at six as it is to me today that this is a barbaric spectacle that has got to end. Gone are the days of the freak shows with people who twisted with deformities are subjected to ridicule and persecution.
But the circus remains.
Following is an excerpt from the Elephant Whisperer Darren Barnes on the websiste Circus News. It is an in depth account of how to train an elephant.
Come on along for some good family fun, don’t forget the kiddies!
“Kettiazhikkal, is when a new mahout is introduced to an elephant. The mahout will bring the elephant under control by using restraining devices at his or her disposal. The mahout will subject the elephant to torture and beatings, often hurling verbal abuse at the elephant in an attempt to scare the elephant into submission. When breaking an elephant, one front leg and the opposite rear leg are chained and secured to "tying-off" points. Two more elephant section personnel or mahouts will approach the elephant and commence stirring up and disturbing the elephant, encouraging the elephant to attack them. The trainer, or intended mahout, will then commence giving the elephant verbal commands and if the elephant disobeys (which, of course, it naturally will) then the other handlers or mahouts will proceed to attack and beat the elephant with whatever restraining devices are at their disposal. This continues until the elephant becomes exhausted and gradually stops resisting, showing a willingness to learn and thus obey the trainers commands. The elephant must be able to see which restraining device is causing the pain. This ensures the submissiveness of the elephant later on when it is approached by a handler, mahout or trainer carrying a particular restraining device, fearful and well aware of the pain that the restraining device is capable of dishing out. As I mentioned before, the same practice occurs in circus, wildlife park and zoo environments around the world, - it's just the way things are done.”
http://circusnews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=934
Now, let me ask you something. If you saw this going on in your neighbor’s backyard with his dog, what would you do? Would you yell at him to stop? Would you call the police? You would have a right to, since we have animal cruelty laws. But as the Elephant Whisperer says – it’s just the way things are done.
It’s always been this way.
People always had slaves.
Men always beat their wives.
Parents always beat their kids.
Just because a “wrong” has always existed, does not, simply because it is commonplace, somehow make it right. Just because it is commonplace for slaves to be traded at the town center, does not make it right. And just because something is happening in private, behind closed doors, out of public view, does not make it “none of our business”. Just because someone can close his front door and beat his wife, does not make it ok. It affects us all. Because it is wrong.
It might not be any of our business in some sense of the words, but it is, in face, all of our business. Because that woman must interact with society, the kids that have witnessed this abuse must interact with society, the abuser must interact with society. And those interactions with undoubtedly end up negative if no one gets involved.
But you don’t see that at the circus, do you? You don’t see tigers and lions paws being cut so they stand on their back legs. You don’t see the blowtorches, the electric cattle prods, the shock collars, the bull hooks sunk into these animals. That behavior isn’t exhibited under the big top. And why is that? If it is acceptable, common place, a “must” in the arena of animal handling? Why not be overt about it?
Because they know it is wrong.
It is wrong to punch primates in the face.
From the Animal Defenders International:
“We had eyewitness accounts of:
Horses and ponies being repeatedly whipped about the body and face during training;
Elephants hooked viciously with metal hooks, and being beaten mercilessly with metal bars, brooms, shovels, even pieces of old plumbing;
Camels beaten in the face with fiberglass rods;
Animals punched, kicked, and screamed at – screaming can make a full-grown lioness urinate with fear;
Lions and tigers beaten with metal bars and tent poles.
Horses and ponies spending up to 96% of the time tied on short ropes and in stalls and time in the ring is strictly controlled and restricted. The horses and ponies were shown to have a twelve inch tether from a loop at the front of their stall.
Tigers and lions spending between 75-99% of their time in their traveling cages, on the back of transporters, in severely cramped conditions.
Elephants were shown to be spending 70-98% of their time chained to the ground by two legs, only able to take one step forwards and one backwards.”
http://www.ad-international.org/media_centre/videos.php?g=1&page=1
Good clean family fun. Don’t forget the cotton candy!
It is wrong to beat animals mercilessly. It is wrong to imprison them for up to 99% of their time. We are the stewards to the dependent beings on this planet, not their torturers.
What is the point of the circus? That some three-toothed, scrubby man in a threadbare costume can control huge majestic beasts? That a short, uneducated greasy guy can force a massive animal to stand on its forehead, or place its front feet on the back of the animal in front of it? Have you seen these people?
Shudder.
Is there some point I’m missing?
There is no educational value to this.
There is no gain to our city, except that once again we have a show for a multi-week engagement that relies solely on the torture and cruelty to our dependent animals for financial gain. We have seen repeatedly that Houstonians respond to entertainment that involves no wild animal performance. We see that circus bans are spreading not just across our country, but across the rest of the planet.
It is time, Houston. It is time to say “no thanks” to the traveling carnage known as the circus. There are plenty of sanctuaries with space available for these animals to retire.
It’s the least we can do.
As the kind compassionate people I know us to be.
Protest Schedule as follows:
Park at the strip center parking lot off Kirby just past Reliant Stadium. There's a sandwich shop there, park facing the street. We have signage, bring water and dress for the heat. A hat is suggested. I will have more details at the beginning of the month.
July 14 Friday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 15 Saturday 11:30 AM ARRIVE AT 9:30am
July 15 Saturday 3:30 PM ARRIVE AT 1:30
July 15 Saturday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 16 Sunday 5:30 PM ARRIVE AT 3:30
July 18 Tuesday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 19 Wednesday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 20 Thursday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 21 Friday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 22 Saturday 11:30 AM ARRIVE AT 9:30am
July 22 Saturday 3:30 PM ARRIVE AT 1:30
July 22 Saturday 7:30 PM ARRIVE AT 5:30
July 23 Sunday 1:30 PM ARRIVE AT 11:30am
July 23 Sunday 5:30 PM ARRIVE AT 3:30
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