Saw the circus last night, more fun then I thought...

Pastfinder

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Jul 2, 2000
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I haven't been to see the circus since I was around the age of 6 or 7. My fellow AFROTC cadets were going and kept telling me to go. Finally I said "ok, I'll go." Well, I wasn't disappointed. The circus was "The Greatest Show on Earth," nuff said. They opened with a ski jump, a freaking indoor ski jump. They'd take off and then do a flip or two before landing. It was cool to say the least. Some of the gymnastics were incredible, I don't think I could balance on a beam being held by two other folks, pretty awesome. They had the usual swings daredevils ("Angels of Fire") and Tigers and Elephants. No bears or lions :(

I guess the point to this post it to say go see the circus. I think you really can appreciate it more when you are a few years older.
 

raz

Banned
Feb 19, 2000
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Never been myself. But I'm thinking of taking my boy next time it comes to town. Not sure if it's appropiate to take a 2-year-old though.
 

StinkyMeat

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Sep 7, 2001
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Sorry. It really irks me to see the conditions they keep the animals in. I went once as a child, and will never go again.
 

Azraele

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Nov 5, 2000
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<< Sorry. It really irks me to see the conditions they keep the animals in. I went once as a child, and will never go again. >>



Same here.
 

glen

Lifer
Apr 28, 2000
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What was up with the guy with Red Hair?
Was he supposed to be funny?
Did the kids like him?
 

johnjohn320

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2001
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<< Sorry. It really irks me to see the conditions they keep the animals in. I went once as a child, and will never go again. >>



I have a feeling that that is more TV news magazine sensationalism than anything else. I realize that some circuses mistreat their animals, but I have to wonder if maybe it's only a small percentage.
 

StinkyMeat

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Sep 7, 2001
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<<

<< Sorry. It really irks me to see the conditions they keep the animals in. I went once as a child, and will never go again. >>



I have a feeling that that is more TV news magazine sensationalism than anything else. I realize that some circuses mistreat their animals, but I have to wonder if maybe it's only a small percentage.
>>



It's not.
 

AreaCode707

Lifer
Sep 21, 2001
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I love watching the horses - having worked with my own fussy bratty Arab (whom I love dearly :)) it amazes me how well trained theirs are. And it's always a balm to the ego to see one misbehave. And a word to circus conditions, it depends on the circus. The really well-known ones can't get away with it. Animal rights groups and all that. In fact, the last two circus' I went to, over the past few years, handed out fliers about their conditions and in one (a small one) you could see where the animals were being kept and how they were transported, though it was seperate from the crowd areas so they didn't but the animals.
 

AreaCode707

Lifer
Sep 21, 2001
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<< I don't care how the animals are treated. They don't belong in a circus. Period. >>



I'm curious, why do you believe that?
 

glen

Lifer
Apr 28, 2000
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<< They don't belong in a circus. >>



Maybe they don't.
I don't know.
But, let's be realistic, living in the wild is natural, but brutal.
Very brutal, life expectancy is shorter, and death is often violent.
 

StinkyMeat

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Sep 7, 2001
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True, but it's they way they were meant to live.

I don't see the human race as some benevolent group trying to protect our furry friends. We shouldn't do that. Dogs? Fine, they have been domesticated for a long time. Cats? Sure. But elephants and tigers? They do not exist to entertain us. Let them go about their business, they deserve that much.
 

AreaCode707

Lifer
Sep 21, 2001
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<< True, but it's they way they were meant to live.

I don't see the human race as some benevolent group trying to protect our furry friends. We shouldn't do that. Dogs? Fine, they have been domesticated for a long time. Cats? Sure. But elephants and tigers? They do not exist to entertain us. Let them go about their business, they deserve that much.
>>



While the animals they have, such as elephants and tigers, are definitely not house pets, they're not wild either. The animals wouldn't survive in their natural habitat - obviously because we removed them from it long ago and their not fit to go back, so it may be our fault but it's still a fact. I think what you're speaking to is the animals happiness in their circumstances. Anyone here a circus trainer? :) I don't think it's really possible to claim they're unhappy unless you've worked closely with them.
 

glen

Lifer
Apr 28, 2000
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I think it is certainly possible for captive animals to have happier lives.
This still may not give us reason to hold them captive.
 

StinkyMeat

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Sep 7, 2001
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<< I think it is certainly possible for captive animals to have happier lives.
This still may not give us reason to hold them captive.
>>



Agreed.
 

Murphyrulez

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Mar 24, 2001
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Animals are on earth to serve humans. We slaughter cows every day. What is the harm in having a circus full of animals?

I will be going to the circus with my 3 year old son this year. I don't like seeing animals abused, and I doubt that the majority of animals in the circus are abused.

Should we open all the zoos? Free all the animals? Let the Panda bears be run into extinction in the wild?


I don't think so. It might make you feel good to say that the poor animals shouldn't be locked in a cage, but that's the way it has always been and will always be.

Go hug a tree, it may make you feel better.

:)
 

Pastfinder

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Jul 2, 2000
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Gotta leave it to ATOT to take a topic and change it's purpose.

I agree with concept that maybe the animals have been mistreated at some point in their exsistence, though I imagine that it is not a consistent day to day occurence. I will support the circus by saying that if it wasn't for their getting out to the boondocks and displaying endangered animals for the public to appreciate and realize the importance of saving them, that the animals would have been exterminated by now.

Hmmm, since humans are animals, does anyone ever give a thought to human abuse in unhumane conditions? Or would that require too much effort?
 

burnedout

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Oct 12, 1999
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Gotta leave it to ATOT to take a topic and change it's purpose.

Two years ago, I posted a deal in Hot Deals about a free ticket offer from the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. The free ticket was for babies (limit one and good for life) and, believe it or not, if you go to the Ringling Bros website, the offer may still be valid. At any rate, there were all kinds of animal rights loons crawling out of the woodwork crapping on that thread. There was one person in particular who kept bringing up about Ringling Brothers' treatment of elephants. He/she/it/whatever backed off after I linked the NY State investigation into Ringling Brothers that more or less found them innocent of cruel and inhumane treatment.

Anyway, yes, their circus is indeed "The Greatest Show on Earth". They perform some incredible acts. They have been around a very long time too.