uploaded to Flickr by Angela N.
One of the most marvelous sights in this fair city of ours, in my opinion, is the annual march of the elephants. It’s happening again this year this Tuesday at 2 p.m. The Tweet-savvy Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus pachyderms will start their lumbering stroll at Garfield Park and swing their trunks all the way to the Washington Monument. They’ll be bedazzled in red, white and blue and be trailed by 200 performers, and perhaps even a few PETA members. Whatever your perspective on this spectacle, here’s the map of their trip to the Verizon Center, where the circus will perform March 24 through 27.
Each year the cry goes up on the Hill debating whether the walk and spectacle are good times or just plain old exploitation and humiliation of the amazing beasts. Well, in my mind, sequins and studded harnesses should generally be reserved for drag queens, but the memories of youthful visits to the circus give me enough pleasure to be able to enjoy the event rather than vehemently disdain it.
THIH resident curmudgeon and historian Tim Krepp backs up the elephants commercial role a bit more historically saying that taming animals was an important step in human development, and without the horse to pull the plow, we would have never have built up the wealth to move to the next level. It’s only that wealth in our post-industrial world that allows us the luxury of looking down upon our fore-bearers.
He also makes a great point saying that entertaining children is surely a nicer cause than attempting to sack Rome. At least they aren’t slapping a tie on the elephants and making them work in a cubicle for ten hours before letting them drive two hours home to a house in the burbs. Now that would be cruel.
Personally, I’m waiting for the news of the parade to percolate on MOTH. There’s sure to be an ensuing dialogue on the merits or irresponsibility of exposing the kids to Dumbo in their very own back yards.
Can’t we have a donkey parade to even out the score? Equal treatment for Democrats! (good or bad, as you may see it)
How come in a country that has laws that make it a criminal offense too abuse or treat animals inhumanely the Circus Industry is seemingly exempt? For decades the circus has used abusive training methods on their baby elephants and other exotic animals for big profits they make off these performing animals. In 2009 irrefutable evidence of this abuse came out in photos of a Ringling baby elephant training session and in testimony given during a federal trial, even the General Manager of Ringling’s Center of Elephant Conservation facility admitted that they don’t videotape the elephant training sessions because they are hard to defend in the modern world. If this reporter who’s memories of youthful visits to the circus allows her to enjoy the circus event rather than vehemently disdain it, needs to go back and do some more investigation. This factual and educational video documentary just came out on You Tube called Man and Elephant: A Litany of Tragedy. You will see Ringling’s elephant trainers and others hooking, and beating their elephants until they scream in pain. Learn about the birth of the circus in the US http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRq7_dfquds&feature=related You won’t see this at Ringling ‘s preshow events.
Okay Kate, as THIH’s resident vegetarian I’ll address Tim’s point that humans and animals have a milennia-long relationship…
True of course but does that make our treatment of them right? Tim of all people should know that just because a practice is something we’ve always done is not reason enough to continue…
Chains, cages, performing 5 shows a day? Ringling Bros it’s a grueling life for the underpaid clowns and dancing girls who CHOSE to join the circus.
Ten or 12 years ago Ring Bros had an act which consisted of an enormous hippo walking around the ring with a monkey doing tricks on its back. It sucked. It wasn’t entertaining for anyone. (I went because a college friend was one of the clowns. Her life long ambition.)
The last time I went to the Ringling Bros circus was with my younger son’s class at Tyler 4 years ago and you know it’s just really boring. The human acts, the clowns… It’s just not as good a show as Cirque du Soleil (which is very very $$) or even the Big Apple Circus.
Big Apple uses domesticated animals like dogs and horses but not wild animals like elephants and tigers. The humans are doing the entertaining in these other circuses, they don’t rely on animal abuse for their thrills and laughs.
FWIW I don’t oppose modern zoos, they do lots of good for animal preservation and human education.
with all due respect to mr. krepp, just because we used to do something doesn’t mean it was right or we should continue doing the same thing (ahem…slavery!!). bullying these exotic animals into performing for people is not only wrong, it’s just, as jen points out: boring.
read, “water for elephants,” by the way, if you want a history of how animals were treated in the circus. it’s fiction, but supposedly very accurate.
Really… all this indignation over the circus coming to town. I sense some folks that could use another job to vent some of their angst.
This article was recently published, read comments from Amy McWethy, Director of Corporate Communications for Feld Entertainment. http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/Animal-Rights-Activists-Co-by-Cheryl-Biren-110224-785.html
Ringling routinely pulls nursing elephants from their mothers to train them and put them on the road. Since 1992 they have had about 24 births and 26 elephants to die prematurely from fatal foot diseases caused from being forced to live the circus life. This is not conservation of a species. This is breeding more elephants to keep the shows on the road.
Uppity Mom’s, sorry I couldn’t respond yesterday, I was at my job, so my internet-sparring time is minimal.
I chose to respond because there are certain situations that people accept because they’ve always been a certain way and they don’t question if it is right or beneficial to all parties. And “hey kids love elephants so don’t be such a killjoy”.
There are many places for kids to have fun, at a circus, there is simply no reason to continue to support this one. I didn’t suggest that you also should stop eating meat…just stop supporting animal mistreatment.
Change is hard but on the scale of things I think this isn’t such a big change for most people to make.