Should circuses be forced to stop using elephants in their acts?
By Michael Knox,
mknox@modernfilmzine.com
(Michael is also the director of the Changing Elevations, Inc. circus documentary “Tearing Down the Tent”)
When my contact from the Cole Bros. Circus sent me a link to MSNBC’s site for a poll regarding elephant use I knew I had to vote.
The poll asks whether circuses should be forced to stop using elephants in their acts, something I have personal experience with, having traveled with the circus as a child and filmed the circus documentary as an adult.
My experienced has been that these creatures are some of the most magical beasts you will ever see, the closest thing you will come to know that is anything like a dragon. And if you take them from the circus you will never get to be close and touch and smell these beautiful creatures.
Trapped at a zoo, with only so much room to walk around on, you will never get close enough to experience really how wonderful it is to be around an elephant.
Maybe I’m a bit biased, seeing how I had a “pet” elephant as a child. When I traveled with the Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. Circus as a kid I would go down to the circus tent everyday and feed peanuts to Pete. And Pete the elephant was a smart bugger, knowing who I was immediately. And knowing full well I already had a bag of peanuts waiting for him.
Pete was a great friend that I traveled with during the summers and was smart enough to know what a high five was. I’d go to raise my hand and say, “Give me a high five” and he would pat my hand with his trunk. Smartest pet I never really owned.
During the opening act of the circus I would often ride Pete around the parade portion of the show, riding him bareback. Most people would use a saddle, but the elephant trainer showed me how to hop on the back of his neck and just ride Pete around like a giant horse. Those are memories I will never forget and one of the things that’s always been a bit magical for me when it comes to the circus.
It has surprised me though how much the circus industry has been in the news. Even down to MSNBC doing piece on the industry.
I’ve already voted by the way, voting “No. Elephants are an essential part of the circus tradition.” I was happy to see that most of the people who had voted agreed with me. A whopping 52.9 percent, with 3,678 votes, agreed that elephants do, indeed, need to be a part of the circus.
If you want to see this tradition keep going, please vote and let MSNBC and others know that you also think elephants should continue to be a part of the circus tradition.
