Two thousand years ago when Romans went to a circus they saw gladiator-slaves who were forced to fight one another, elephants, tigers and other captive animals. When they include animals, modern circuses continue this legacy of captivity and exploitation even to this day. Like gladiators of ancient Rome, the use of captive animals for entertainment is an anachronism ready to be replaced by something better.
And that something better already exists: it’s the amazing skills of acrobats, clowns, jugglers, contortionists, trapeze artists, magicians, strong people and other human performers in animal-free circuses. These are the kinds of non-exploitative attractions AnimalFreedom is encouraging the people of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to support with the launch of the animal-free circus campaign.
Pittsburgh is already a popular destination for a number of dazzling circuses showcasing the talents of exclusively human performers. This year alone Pittsburgh was host to eight such circuses from four continents, including the Golden Dragon Acrobats (China), the Jabali Acrobats (Kenya), Circus Incognitus (Canada), The Peking Acrobats (China), Circus Oz (Australia), The New Shanghai Circus (China), The Candy Butchers (Australia) and Pittsburgh’s very own Zany Umbrella Circus.
Organizations such as the University of Pittsburgh’s Chinese American Students Association, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and the Pittsburgh International Children’s Theater brought these circuses to town. Meanwhile, the Zany Umbrella Circus headed off to Jordan to teach children circus skills and inspire hope. Their trips to Mississippi, Louisiana, Afghanistan and Jordan are documented at an exhibit at the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum entitled “Circus for Social Change,” on-going through January 21.
These circuses demonstrate that animals are not necessary to put on an astonishing show. In fact, many people prefer human-only circuses for a variety of reasons.
Beyond the hype of “The Greatest Show On Earth,” circuses like Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are hard pressed to keep up with the gains of animal-free circuses like the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil. Fewer people, after seeing what talented human performers can do, seem impressed by a person with a whip or bullhook forcing a tiger to jump through a hoop or an elephant to kneel.
Supporting animal-free circuses not only supports freedom for nonhuman animals, but also human workers. Ringling appropriates acts from around the world, and international performers on visas have little recourse to stand up for their rights or request better working conditions. Yet their hard work still profits Feld Entertainment, owners of Ringling Bros. Attending circuses put on by the international performers themselves not only affords far greater worker protection, but also means superior shows since they have full creative control over their own performances.
Choosing animal-free circuses also supports the struggles of captive animals who regularly resist their exploitation. Sometimes this resistance is violent, as when the tiger Montecore attacked Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy, another act owned by Feld Entertainment, but usually the resistance is in the form of nonviolent refusal to cooperate, as was witnessed at this year’s Ringling Bros. performance.
The animal-free circus campaign is just getting underway, but already nearly 1,500 informative thank you notes have been handed out to patrons of animal-free circuses, and plans to bring the animal-free Apollo Circus of Soul to town are in the works. People are also encouraged to pledge to attend only animal-free circuses, and the pledge is available online at www.animalfreedom.info. If you would like to get involved in the campaign, contact AnimalFreedom.
(First published in The NewPeople, December 2007)
