First, the Bad News

Written by Kerry Ashmore of the Northeaster
Posted  9/26/2007

We’re saddened that Minneapolis City Council members Friday did not seize the opportunity to ban wild animal circus acts from the city. Circus promoters must have made a strong case for the economic benefits of circuses, as that’s usually the "card" that "trumps" a proposal that makes so much sense in principle.

We are not in a position to know how each trainer treats each animal, and we don’t need to know that to conclude that the entire animal circus practice is wrong. There simply isn’t a humane way to constantly transport animals from town to town and require them to do tricks. It certainly can be done without directly torturing the animals, and for the sake of argument, we’ll stipulate that today’s circuses treat animals as well as they can. It’s still a practice that society should do everything in its power to stop.

When children see how our human society fails to protect the non-human animals among us, they ask questions. Too many parents promise them that everything is okay (because their parents told them everything was okay), and they grow up believing that the way animals are treated⤔from circuses to puppy mills to veal farms to chicken ranches to slaughter houses⤔is acceptable. Then people act surprised when some of the children grow up to become insensitive to violence. Children are smart, and when they see that society applies the Golden Rule selectively, they have every reason to be confused and rebellious when they are told that violence is wrong. To be sure, wild animal circuses are the symptoms, not the causes, of society’s inconsistencies on issues of violence. Banning them, however, gives us an opportunity to begin corrective action.

Our society is a long way from treating animals the way they should be treated (even if we accept using them for human food), and Minneapolis missed a golden opportunity to contribute to the solution. We’re pleased that the issue is still on the table for discussion, and hope city officials will eventually see the wisdom of banning wild animal circuses.