Payton Whiteman

English 1201
10 March 2015
Working Bibliography

"Should Animals Perform in Circuses?" Should Animals Perform in Circuses?N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar.
2015. <http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-animals-perform-in-circuses>.
Debate.org is a website that shows peoples opinions and reasoning for beliefs that they actually
believe in. Even though it isnt a credible website you actually learn a lot about both sides that
people have. After reading a few I believe I would be part of the no group also. The question was
Should animals perform in the circus and people had different inputs in the topic. For the most
part, all of the nos had the same reasoning which was that it was cruel to the wild animals but on
some they have some very specific details. It is nice to see that people have the same beliefs as
you even if its just a biased website. People that disagree with animals in the circus just want the
best for the animals and for them not to be abused ever. They had opinions that made sense to me
as to why they should take animals out of the circus. Even thought they do not have evidence or
statistics they make you sit back and think about what you are reading and if you agree with what
is being said or if you disagree. This site was a good starter site to help out with starting your
paper and give you ideas where to go with the information you were given. I wouldnt use it for
real statistics or facts but as a guide site.

More Beautiful Wild. Born Free USA. Born Free USA. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

http://www.bornfreeuse.org%2Fmbw%2Fc1_problem.php
Born Free USA was another site I used and I must say it was one of my favorites I found. It gave
a lot of very informative and details that made me sick to my stomach. When you think of the
circus you think mostly of the exotic animals in the shows instead of the people that fill the show
with laughter and excitement also. All you see in the acts is the glamour of the animals which
they actually do look slightly happy but once the curtains are closed thats where the scary and
torture starts. These wild animals were either abducted from the wild or bred from captivity and
even though they look like they are pets and safe to be around, they are still wild animals
that are not meant to be used as acts for enjoyment. How do you think the wild animals are
transported from show to show? These wild animals are put in cages and they stay in cages until
they arrive to their next destination. That means they do not get the proper exercise that a wild
animals or even any animal should ever get. The only time they get to move around or to even
see sunlight is when they are transported out of the cage or to practice their acts. They should be
able to roam on their own without being attached to a rope or whatever the people use to keep
the animal close to them. When you are at the show you see the animals being praised with treats
and love but what you do not see is the behind the scenes is the abuse that the animals get put
through and the torture they go through from getting hit from bull hooks and other devices.

"Animals in Circuses: Ringling and Reality." Friend of Animals. HindSite Interactive, 2013. Web. 11
Mar. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Ffriendsofanimals.org%2Fprograms%2Fdomesticated-and-feralanimals%2Fcircuses-rodeos-bull-riding%2Fanimals-circuses-ringling-and>.

The next website I used was called friends of animals. They focused mainly on one circus and
that was The Ringling Circus. This website copied what the the Ringling workers said and then
made their own remarks on what the biased workers had to say. The first thing Ringling said was
If you are worried how our animals are treated, come look at our animals then the websites
response was even though they look happy during the act you should see how they are behind
the scenes. The big massive wild animals are being locked in the cage most of their life with very
little exercise and are in a train being transported to their next destination. That is not a happy
wild animal in my opinion. Think about if you were trapped in a small room for most of your life
and you only got to come out to do cool tricks and impress people that paid good money to
watch them be happy animals. Ringling then said that the animals and trainers have a special
bond but in the long run the bond is not love but domination. The elephants and tigers did not
sign up to be puppet show and to do whatever the trainers told them to. They never wanted to do
any of the tricks but were forced to learn how to do the tricks or they were beaten until they got
the trick down. Did you know that in some zoos they are taking out elephants because they
realized that they cannot fit the elephants needs which is to live in a very long environment and
wanted to protect them as much as possible so they took them out completely in Philadelphia and
Bronx.

Podberscek, Anthony L., Elizabeth S. Paul, and James Serpell. Chapter 15.
Companion Animals and Us: Exploring the Relationships between People and Pets.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005. 275-91. Print

This book has to do with abuse to any animals not just wild animals. In the long run safety is
not just about wild animals but to any animal out there including pets, forest animals, and farm
animals. Im sure you have seen on the news multiple times that a pet has been taken away from
a home from being neglected or beaten. Or you heard of people raising dogs for dog fights to win
money if their dog wins, which means killing the other dog by attacking him/her to death. That is
not even close to being humane. People should never hurt animals but love them. If you have
ever watched Animal Planet, Im sure you have watched a show that use to deal with an animal
being abused or not taken care of. The first show I can think of is Animal Cops, which you see
some pretty graphic things from the owners not feeding or watering the animal for a long period
of time to the animal having battle wounds from the owner or other animals beating them, to
even poorly kept in a non stable environment. I know in my paper I am only talking about wild
animals being kept safe but in the long run all animals should be loved and safe from any
possible danger.
Victory For Ringling Bros. Circus Elephants LCA Last Chance for Chance for Animals. 2015. Web.
11 Mar. 2015. <http%253A%252F%252Fwww.lcanimal.org%252Findex.php%252Fcampaigns
%252Fanimals-in-entertainment%252Fcircuses>.
LCA is a group of people that help protect animals and keep them safe. Here recenty you have
heard a lot about the Ringling Circus and how they abuse their animals so they will do the
routines until it looks perfect. That means the animals dont get fed or get to sleep if they dont
get the routine correct. After doing some research, I found that The Ringling Circus will actually
be taking out the elephant act. The elephants are part of the endangered species and using them
as a act and creating a bigger threat to the animals could possibly make them go extinct. Its great
that LCA goes around to where Ringling is performing and protests out front of the center. They

believe their protests have helped end the elephant act. Now hopefully in a few years or even
sooner they will end all wild animals in the circus. Before you know it any of the animals in the
circus could be on the endangered species list and for what, pleasure of people and making
money for circuses? To me that seems a little crazy. It is very good news that they are taking the
elephants out and I hope LCA and other organizations continue to protest and fight their way to
end all wild animals in the circus.
Point: The Treatment Of Animals By Zoos, Aquariums, And Circuses Should Be Improved Through
More Stringent Regulations And Overight. Points of View: Zoos &Circuses(2014): 1 Points of
View Reference Center. Web. 16 Mar. 2015
To me wild animals being kept in zoos and aquariums are much better than animals being used in
the circus. Even though they dont have too big of a space to live, they at least get to live a
normal life and do whatever they chose to do rather than what their trainer wants them to do in
the circus. Animals should be able to live their life in peace and happiness not being scared and
abused all the time. They should be able to roam their area whenever they please and be able to
see the sunlight when they please also. The zoo protects them and they get to eat meals whenever
they please. There is a huge difference between a wild animal being in the zoo and a wild animal
being in the circus. Animals in the zoo do not get abused or hit to make them do tricks. Zoos
dont pick and choose when they will feed the animals or even if they are planning on giving
them food for a day. And zoos definitely do not keep them in a cage for most of their life. People
pay to see the animals in a zoo in their prime habitat not animals jumping through a ring because
they are forced to do that. I hope one day that we will finally ban all exotic aninal in the circus
and just make it a human circus.

Should Circuses Stop Using Wild Animals?. Scholastic NewsEdition 5/6 83.15 (2015): 7. Middle
Search Plus Web. 11Mar. 2015.
Currently in Mexico, they are working on a law to ban wild animals in circuses. All they need
right now is for the president of Mexico to sign the bill to make it a law. Mexico will be one of
the few countries to ban wild animals from the circus but hopefully not the last either. Their
concerns to make the bill are that wild animals shouldnt be trained to do tricks that they would
never do in the wild that could abuse or hurt the animals very badly. Also the animals that have
been taken from the wild has also been taken away from their families in the wild which could
cause the animal to be stressed out and possibly hurt the trainers even if they dont mean to.
None of this should ever be a concern if they just took out the animals completely and sent them
back to the wild where they can roam freely and live their lives the way they want to. Some
peoples arguments is that it gave people a rare chance to see exotic animals but would you rather
see the wild animals or see them all die from being abused from our pleasure?

Scotland Seeks Views On Banning Wild Animals In Traveling Circuses. Veterinary Record: Journal
Of The British Veterinary Association 174,(2014): 105. Food Science Source. Web. 11 Mar.
2015.
Also in Scotland, they are working on taking animals out of the circus all together. This will be a
huge step to make other counties take a step back and think about the decisions they are making
on keeping wild, exotic animals in the circus. Sure it is thrilling to see the animals do the tricks
but think about what its like to be that animal doing the tricks that they arent made to do. How
would you feel to be hit all day long to jump through a little ring or to stand on two legs or to
even have another exotic animal riding on an elephants back? Im guessing you wouldnt like it

too much either. Just put what its like to be that animals into perspective and then think about
the abuse the circus is causing the animals from day to night. They arent getting the proper
treatment that they deserve. I hope that one day the short list of countries that have banned wild
animals from being in the circus turns into a much bigger list. That will help the animals that are
in the endangered species list become more safe than they would be in the circus.

Sturgis Jen. Veterinary Tech at Monroe Family Pet Hospital. Worked there for 2 years now.
Jennifer Sturgis graduated high in 2011 at Madison JR/SR high school and she always went to
Butler Tech which is a tech prep school to get you ready for the job you are wanting to get into.
She choose to be a veterinarian because the love and bond she has with animals. She has a heart
of gold and helping animals makes her happy. She went to UC Blue Ash and got her associates
degree for a veterinarian assistant. She has been working at Monroe Family Vet Hospital since
she was a junior in high school so she has seen a lot. I asked her a few questions about what she
has seen while working with animals and even though she hasnt seen too many bad things, her
boss has. She said he has witnessed animals come into the hospital brutally abused and mal
nutrient which made him and everyone else that saw it sick to their stomach. She wishes one day
that the world wont be so messed up and those poor innocent animals will not be abused. I asked
her if the doctor has ever heard of personal stories of wild animals being abused in the circus and
unfortunately he hasnt but wild animals arent the only animals that need helped and saved from
pain and suffering.

Circus Cruelty ASPCA. Web. 08 Mar. 2015. http://www.aspca.org/fight-cruelty/circus-cruelty>.

On the website ASCPC, they talk about how the wild animals are not being treated the way wild
animals should be treated which is awful. They met up with an old employer from a circus that
saw how trainers would beat and abuse the animals behind the scenes just to get the animals to
do whatever they wanted them to do. They would do whatever it took for the animals to learn the
routine and to keep doing the routine until it was perfect for the show. If that meant training and
working all night long then so be it. The poor animals didnt get much sleep or food until they
finished the routine completely. Traveling for other circus acts is very stressful for the animals
for a few reasons. One reason is that they are stuck in a cage until they get to their final
destination. Also they are separated from the other animals of their kind which is not good for
them. For elephants, they need to be in groups or packs so they will feel safer and better
protected. Wild animals have no right to be in a circus where it is so easy for them to get away
from their trainers and to be in the open free penalizing other peoples lives and causing harm for
them. They are meant to be in the wild not in every day environments where tons of people are.