Circus Animals

[gness]

People are being urged not to attend a circus near me because it uses performing animals.
The farmer who has rented the land to the circus owners has said he can't see what the fuss is about...they are not using elephants and tigers..it's horses, llamas, cats, dogs and snakes....so that's okay??????
Has anyone seen a performing llama...do llamas enjoy it?

[joggerjayne]

A performing snake?

[gness]

So he said, JJ........any ideas for the act? x

[Baldric]

//do llamas enjoy it?//

To be honest, I've no idea, and will not be giving them my money to find out.

[tonyav]

I wonder if goats do.

[gness]

Ahh....we all know what goats enjoy, Tony..;-) x

[joggerjayne]

Don't know, gness.

I'd ask my BF for performing snake ideas, but English is not his first language, and he might get the wrong idea. Or the right idea, lol.

[gness]

Well JJ, I was thinking along the lines of limbo dancing.....much prefer your thoughts! x

[tonyav]

Ah yes jj, the world famous trouser snake !.

[emmie]

i have always disliked the circus, using animals for entertainment, not much fun for them i expect.

[gness]

Baldric and Em...nor my money...I detest the thought of a performing animal in a circus.

[joggerjayne]

Limbo dancing?

A snake?

That's what you'd call an unfair advantage!

[gness]

I know JJ, but the elephant failed the audition...;-)

[tonyav]

Same here, gness.

[gness]

Not what Minty told me, Tony...x

[boxtops]

There was a performing snake in the strip club in "Whatever happened to the Likely Lads" this week :-)

[gness]

Oh dear Tony...you meant going to the circus...:-( I thought you meant you had auditioned for limbo dancing! Whoops...:-) x

[tonyav]

LOL ^^^^^

[emmie]

if you want to see something extraordinary go see Cirque de Soleil, not an animal in sight...

[andy-hughes]

gness - what you must remember is that farmers and 'country folk' have a different attitude and perspective rergarding animals.

As non-farming / country folk people, we tend to view animals as intelligent entities, and often anthropomorhisise them to give them endearing 'human' characteristics, which makes us aware of their potential suffering.

Farmers / country folk have a very different attitude - animals are normally defined in monetary terms - they provide a cash return in one form or another, and this means a tandem absence of sentimentality. once an animial - even a domestic pet - is not longer useful of functional, it is disposed of.

This explains your local farmer's approach to the circus - he is simple renting land to people who regard the keeping of animals as he does - a money-making enterprise, sentiment absent.

Therefore he sees no issue in either the circus's activities, or in him renting land to facilitate those activies, and will be genuinlye baffled by anyone making an protest on the animals/ behalf.

Is it wrong? Yes, performing animals have no place in a modern civilsed society - circuses are dying out, and within a couple of generations, such activity will be consigned to the history books, along with children working in mills and mines - and that is where it belongs.

[magsmay]

andy-hughes -I've not read such a load of tosh for at least -well - 10 minutes! Not 'all countryfolk' view animals as monetary objects and dispose of domestic pets once there usefulness is over where on earth do you get your info from? Circuses with animals should be banned -in fact the Circus as entertainment is well passed its sell by date if you ask me.