to think you can still have a successful circus without the poor f**king animals?

[CookieRookie]

I'm absolutely livid at the moment

I've just come back from shopping in town and have seen a circus plonked on an unfinished housing estate. There are five Asian elephants, two camels and other smaller animals grazing in an area no bigger than half an acre WITH buildings on it and vacant concrete lots so not even half an acre to graze!

I know most people are unlikely to get a chance to see these animals at such close range and in the flesh but it's just so very wrong IMO.

AIBU (1) to think there are plenty of other things a circus can host besides these poor creatures. Clowns, trapeez (sp?) artists, dirt bikes, stong men/women, pyrotechnics etc?

AIBU (2) to think it should be outlawed?

I think saying that because an animal was taken from somewhere crueler it's ok to still treat them badly.

That's like saying its ok to call your partner nasty names because her last partner beat her up. So surely you aren't as bad so it must be ok. Not really the point is it?

Domestic animals are different. I have cats, they can roam free and do as they please and I have the privilege of feeding them and emptying their litter trays.

And I'm not off to go eat factory farmed meat now I'm a vegetarian

But to be fair even if people DO eat meat they are still within their rights to want animals treated better, even if it is their food they want to have a better life.

Ignorance is the problem with these things. People go because they don't realise how cruel it is. People eat factory farmed food because they don't realise how bad it is.

I think the best thing to do is to educate people. If people don't go to the circus that has animals in it then there's no money to be made from keeping the animals, so it won't continue. As long as there's money to be made its unlikely things will change

OP, YANBU.

I am saddened and disgusted to see that this is not a universal YANBU. There is absolutely no justification for having animals as part of a circus. The fact that anyone tries to justify it speaks volumes about them as a person.

Richteas, I'm interested to know, when your baby cried, did you know what it wanted? As it's no different, reading an animal's behaviour to tell you whether it is content or not. You can't tell what is going on in your infant's head either but that's no reason to think that therefore you can't make educated guesses.
And if you think a monkey is cute, then great. I happen to agree. Doesn't mean you have no responsibility for the conditions it lives in. And unfortunately it is the case that animals are killed to obtain infants. So surely if you pay to see them then you pay for that to happen? If no-one paid there wouldn't be a trade.
Saying 'it's only one animal' isn't an excuse.

I just wonder if you actually have an answer based on something other than 'I want to' and sarcasm? Debate is good and I'm all for being challenged to justify something but you actually aren't debating anything, just being a bit rude.

Richteas you appear to know whats on an animals mind too, did an elephant tell you it was a social animal and liked to have things to do?

Why are you debating about a subject you clearly know nothing of and have now resorted to ridiculing people who do know what they are talking about?

And we can start with these facts:

There are believed to be up to 7,400 primates privately owned in the UK.
Capuchin monkeys are among the most expensive, fetching around £13,000 a pair.
There is believed to be an 80% non-compliance with licensing (clearly an estimate as no-one comes forward to admit to keeping a primate illegally. Which is also why exact numbers of primate kept privately is a guess).
A study of 23 rescued monkeys (admittedly small sample size but it still illustrates the point) found that not a single one presented without some issues, including: blood abnormalities, skeletal disorders, heart disorders and denatl problems. Not a single animal presented with no behavioural abnormalities.

I am also trying to find an article that I know I read somewhere showing the rise in capuchin ownership in the USA after Marcel the monkey appeared on Friends. There was a similar rise in demand for clown fish after Finding Nemo appeared. People are so easily persuaded by what they see on film - why would a circus be any different?