“We know we cannot be kind to animals until we stop exploiting them — exploiting animals in the name of science, exploiting animals in the name of sport and exploiting animals in the name of fashion.”
–César Chávez

People in today’s day and age are, perhaps, the most enlightened when it comes to the various kinds of rights that humans should be guaranteed. For days, people protest on streets and carry out strikes to send a clear message to the authorities of what their opinions are and as a result great progress has been made with laws like the legalisation of the gay marriage being passed. However, when it comes to any other living being other than the human race, only a certain amount of the population actually fights for their rights.

A circus is one place where animal abuse and cruelty is common as ‘professional’ trainers adopt harsh methods to teach wildlife animals like elephants, tigers, lions and dolphins. The most common tools they use with the aim to train the animals are through whips, tight collars, electric prods, muzzles and many more of the same nature. To use those on an animal for the purpose of jumping through a few fire lit hoops, to show off their power of balance as they hula-hoop or to display their ability to stand on their heads for the entertainment of individuals who find it pleasing to watch the terror stricken, confused and clearly miserable animals, that are intended to be in the wild, is absurd and immoral. That mixed with the fact that they spend majority of their lives in strictly confined places, unable to move two inches is enough to make them a danger to everyone around them due to constant oppression.

In 2014, in the Moola Shrine Circus, three elephants escaped from their handlers as they were stressed by the sounds of the circus. While loose, they damaged multiple cars and ran towards a group of people, sending them running in the opposite direction for their lives. Over the years despite the fact that, due to increased awareness, the number of communities that placed a ban on circuses has increased, the issue remains because of a lack of coverage by the media and the absence of an initiative taken by the people to resolve the matter.