Circus Elephant Abuse

According to PETA.org, “Animals aren’t actors, spectacles to imprison and gawk at, or circus clowns. Yet thousands of these animals are forced to perform silly, confusing tricks under the threat of physical punishment; are carted across the country in cramped and stuffy boxcars; are kept chained in filthy enclosures and separated from their families and friends- all for the sake of “human entertainment”. In 2011, the famous circus show, Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus paid $270,000 for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, the most ever assessed against an animal exhibitor. The circus was sued for the largest amount of money ever in a circus case for mistreating and abusing their elephants. Although Ringling Bros. refers to their

These two go hand-in-hand with each other. Circus elephants are driven mad from being in confined spaces without their friends or family. Elephants start to develop mental health issues due to the circus’s abuse. If you have ever been to the circus, you might have noticed some of the elephants swaying their trunks back and forth, or swaying their legs in a specific pattern. Some signs of stress or mental issues found in captive elephants include rocking, swaying, head-bobbing, or other repetitive movement. These behaviors are signs of extreme psychological distress. Those can also be the effects of a disease called “zoochosis”. According NationalGeographic.com, “Zoochosis is the term used to describe the stereotypical behaviour of animals in captivity. Stereotypic behaviour is defined as a repetitive, invariant behaviour pattern with no obvious goal or function.” Stereotypical behavior is not seen in animals that are living in the wild, it is considered abnormal and is only a factor in captive animals. For example, an elephant named “Tonka”, belongs to Ringling Bros. and suffers severely from zoochosis. She was driven mad from confinement and frequently sways back and forth, bobs her head, and kick her right foot, all being stereotypic behaviors. Although she is under extreme mental stress, she is forced to perform every night. Elephants have similar lifespans to humans, they can live up to 60-70 years. When an elephant has a baby, she nurses the baby until about 5 years old. But, female elephants in the circus, are bred from age 8 and up, that is like breeding an 8 year old child. While the female elephant is having her baby, the trainers tie 3 of her legs together and take the baby away immediately to either be sold or trained for the next show. When the mother elephants have their babies taken away, that life long relationship is abruptly terminated, which causes extreme stress. The