What do circus animals eat

However, to the person who understands the horrors, these animals have had to endure in order to learn tricks and perform in the circus , these shows are displays of extreme animal abuse — set to music and fancy lighting. Yeah, not so pretty. Although many circus troupes would claim that their trainers care deeply for the animals they keep and adhere to the highest possible welfare standards; the lengthy track record of Animal Welfare Act violations kept by the USDA would tell another story.

The fact remains, if a wild animal appears to work in the circus, it is living a life utterly opposed to the one nature intended. Elephants are meant to roam the plains of Africa and Asia, not do handstands.

Tigers are meant to run and hunt, not spend 90 percent of their time in a cage. And these unnatural conditions take a toll on animal health. Circus animals exhibit a wide array of ailments, ranging from mental to physical and everything in between. Below are the top illnesses that can be found in circus animals. And you thought obesity was only a human disease … well, sorry to say it but by forcing our sedentary habits on wild animals we have effectively proliferated this particular ailment.

Elephants in the circus are held in chains when they are not performing. With such little exercise, elephants are prone to obesity, which can have similar health effects as it does in humans. Have you ever tried to stay barefoot on a hard concrete surface for an extended period of time? If you have you can understand the pain that will likely develop in the ankles and knees. Foot problems and lameness is the leading cause of euthanasia for captive elephants.

Starvation and dehydration , surprisingly enough, are methods used for training lions and tigers. In order to get big cats to perform reliably, on command, trainers deprive animals of food and water to establish their dominance. It is estimated that when on the road, a circus travels 48 weeks a year. During this time all circus animals spend about 26 hours in their cages when being transported.

They spend their lives being carted from town to town, state to state, for 11 months out of the year. Often, the boxcars wild animals travel in have no climate control, meaning the animals endure extreme weather conditions. They also are forced to eat, sleep, and defecate in the same space.

The transport cars are often in poor shape and circuses have been repeatedly cited by the USDA for trailers with splintering wood and sharp, protruding metal pieces that could hurt the animals. Due to long hours standing on hard surfaces and lack of appropriate exercises, the leading causes of death among captive elephants are foot infections and arthritis.

Elephants in captivity can carry the human strain of Tuberculosis TB. Those in circuses are particularly at risk due to consistent exposure with infected humans or other elephants. Some elephants who did not exhibit symptoms were confirmed positive during necropsies, possibly infecting other elephants with the disease. In , a tiger named Apollo escaped a Cole Bros. Circus and ran through the busy New York City borough of Queens.

Apollo ran through a crowded park during a busy Saturday and then caused multiple accidents on the Jackie Robinson Parkway, resulting in several severe injuries of drivers. Just nine years earlier, elephants escaped from the same circus in Queens, causing a panicked stampeded that injured a dozen people.

One of the most heartbreaking escapes happened in Hawaii in Tyke, an African bush elephant, killed her trainer, seriously injured her groomer, and ran through the streets of Honolulu before being killed by local police.

While these extreme cases might seem like from a distant time, zebras, elephants, tigers, camels, and other animals have been reported by local news outlets escaping the circus in just the past few years.

Some escaped animals have even been killed by cars while running through busy areas. Because animal abuse in circuses is so prevalent, local governments have already banned or restricted the use of wild animals in traveling acts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pasadena, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Marin County, and New York City, along with states California, Hawaii, New Jersey, and dozens of countries around the world.

Another reason why aquariums cause torment is because many animals kept for shows in aquariums, such as dolphins and other marine mammals, use echolocation. When these animals are locked in tanks, the echoes of the sounds their sonar produces rebound constantly off the ends of the tanks and come back to them immediately. This is extremely stressful and severely affects their mental health.

However, even this may be misleading, because echolocation appears to be more important for these animals than hearing is for us. Maybe a better comparison, for most human beings at least, would be one in which we imagine we are blind and we have to constantly hear the loud sound.

These animals usually have significant skin problems caused by the water in the pools, which is filled with chemicals and has a composition that is not good for them. Furthermore, various dental pathologies are observed across captives whales, with pathologies beginning at a young age. Oral stereotypies exhibited by orcas contribute to the observed dental damage. In addition, as it used to be and still is in many countries with human slavery, the animals are often separated from their families.

Moreover, when they are captured in the wild it is not uncommon for them to die due to stress during their capture and transport. Another argument claims that aquariums and zoos are necessary because of the role they play in the conservation of species.

This once again shows the conflict between views that aim to conserve species or ecosystems, even if it means harming sentient beings to achieve that aim, and those that consider the interests of animals.

They are those used to feed the animals that are used in aquariums, zoos, circuses, and other shows. In some cases, the feeding is done as a show.

Ballantyne, R. Banks, M. Barnard, C. Bashaw, M. Bostock, S. Bowles, A. Boyd, L. Clubb, R. Crane, M. Friend, T. Frost, W. Galhardo, L. Garner, J. Gore, M.

Grandin, T. Gusset, M. Hosey, G. Hutchins, M. Kiley-Worthington, M. Krawczel, P. Kuhar, C. Mason, G. Radford, M. Schmid, J. Mazur, N. Miller, B. Shani, A. Clessa, I. Cottle, L. Circuses and other shows Animals all around the world suffer terribly in circuses and other shows using animals.

Damage to the physical and psychological health of the animals In addition to the physical pain that these forms of torture cause, we must add psychological distress because of the anxiety and fear the torture causes the animals.