The five Bengal tigers seemed bored and depressed. Virtually every day, for countless years, they’ve been forced to perform the same little tricks in front of baying crowds at the Great British Circus. But on the night we visited their boredom was short-lived.

When the ringmaster arrived you could almost sense their nervousness. They began to fidget from side to side. The pitiful-looking creatures then snapped to attention as the ringmaster cracked his vicious-looking whip above their heads. It was ‘showtime’ for the tigers and the lithe and graceful creatures were about to perform.

But these tigers were not about to display their natural climbing, hunting and fishing skills. They were instead about to perform meaningless little tricks in front of an excitable audience.

Their ‘act’ consisted of jumping off stools and leaping onto a table. They did this a dozen times before being ushered back to their cages. And that was it. Another day over. They were now free to return to their beastwagon’s sneaked away behind the Big Top.

And now after a lifetime of boredom and humiliation, the circus director Martin Lacey is threatening to shoot the tigers through the head. His reason? The British Government has just announced that it will ban the use of wild animals in circuses, most likely from the end of March this year. The British ban follows in the wake of those in Costa Rica, Singapore, Crete and numerous other Greek islands.

“How does the Minister Ben Bradshaw think we’re going to keep these animals if we can’t work them?” Lacey fumed yesterday. “The Government is forcing me to put a bullet through the heads of my animals. This ban is illegal and a restraint of trade.”Tim Phillips of Animal Defenders International is treating Lacey’s threats with deadly seriousness:

“We will do everything we can to prevent Lacey from executing his animals. We’re used to threats against ourselves but not to entirely innocent animals. His words represent a chilling turn for the worse. We’ll move heaven and earth to find somewhere safe for these poor creatures. We’ve already had to re-home many circus animals. We’re now at our wits’ end trying to find enough places in sanctuaries for circus animals.”

If all goes according to plan then wild animals such as lions, tigers, elephants, and bears will be banned from performing in circuses across Britain by the end of next month. Although the move is being hailed as a great step forward for animal welfare, and has all party support, Labour has vacillated for months over the issue. The Government initially claimed that a complete ban was unnecessary because the number of such acts had been in decline for many years (admittedly there are now only around 200 performing animals in Britain).

Steadily mounting pressure finally forced the Government’s hand. The all-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, had previously said that the Government was following ‘poor logic’ over the issue. Then over 100 MPs from all parties signed a Commons motion demanding complete prohibition.

After endless dithering the Animal Health Minister Ben Bradshaw finally saw sense when he announced that he had ‘listened carefully to the arguments’ and agreed that performances by wild animals in circuses are ‘not compatible with their welfare’. In Neo-Labour-speak, this signaled the imminent end to performing wild animals in circuses. As a result the Animal Welfare Act will be amended to ban performing animals.

On the face of it, the ban appears to be a big step forward for animal welfare. By banning performing animals in circuses, the Government is putting an end to the suffering and cruelty that sometimes appears endemic to the industry.

But animal welfare campaigners fear that there could be a devil hiding in the detail. Many worry that Labour’s predilection for compromise and spin may end up rendering the whole ban stillborn. Some are concerned that it may turn into a cheap imitation of the hunting ban, which appears to have had little impact on bloodsports.

But their greatest fear is that the ban won’t be enforced. It will obviously be easy to police a ban on performing lions, tigers and elephants but it is likely to prove impossible to enforce the strict new rules governing the welfare of domestic animals in circuses. Police and local authorities have proven incapable and unwilling to enforce  even the existing laws protecting circus animals. Will the new laws be any different? Clearly the only certain way is to ban all performing animals from circuses. Such a move is clean and logical but the Government seems unwilling to take such a bold step.

The demeaning scenes witnessed in Hull at the Great British Circus are not just confined to Lacey’s operation. Newsmonster in an investigation for the Daily Mail visited several more and saw similarly unsettling performances. All show similarly debased and humiliated creatures.
 
In many ways, Peter Jolly’s circus, currently over-wintering in Shropshire, is typical. The circus is preparing for the new season. Performances by its animals are, if anything, even more unsettling than those laid on by the Great British Circus.

On a typical night the most pitiable sight of all is the ‘performance’ of Ming the ageing black bear. This poor creatures is forced to pad around the Big Top to the tune of the Teddy Bears’ picnic, day in day out.

After she’s been paraded around, a brightly coloured clown gives Ming a bottle of milk. She then sits gratefully down on a bench and drinks it slowly. After all, the longer she takes, the longer she’ll stay out of her cage. The  old bear has learned how to make the most of her few minutes of ‘freedom’.

And when the tune is over, Ming shambles back to her 'beastwagon', as her home in a tiny barren cage on the back of a truck is known. If she’s lucky, she will also be allowed to use her 'exercise' cage, which is little more than a prison cell with a grass floor. This gives her barely enough room to take four or five steps in each direction.

Peter Jolly’s circus has replaced Ming’s natural life of roaming through forests and swimming in mountain streams with boredom and hopelessness. Her natural diet of fresh corn, honey and wild berries has been replaced with dog biscuits, vegetables and – as an occasional treat - a pig's head. It’s hardly surprising that she looks so lonely, miserable and depressed.

At Bobby Roberts Circus, currently performing near Huntingdon, we found similar scenes. On the night we visited a horse, a pony and a camel were forced to perform tricks in front of a rowdy crowd. The mismatched animals were cajoled and whipped until they trotted around the outside of the ring. The pathetic looking creatures frequently collided as they desperately tried to obey the commands barked at them.

But this was just the beginning of their humiliation. Three little stands were placed in the centre of the circus ring and one by one the animals were forced to leap onto the platforms. There was plenty of room for the pony but barely enough for the horse. The camel just looked ridiculously large when he finally made it onto the tiny perch.

But perhaps the saddest sight of the evening came during the interval when Ann the arthritic elephant was unveiled. The creature is now over fifty years old and can often find it difficult to shuffle around the ring. She’s now a feature of the circus and the proprietor charges children £4.00 to have their photos taken with the unfortunate beast.

Whilst it can be argued that all of the circus animals seen by the Mail suffer as a result of circus life, it would be ungracious to claim that the proprietors are deliberately cruel. In fact, they are probably doing their best to treat their animals well. But many circus owners are less scrupulous.

A report by the All Party Parliamentary Animal  Welfare Group found disturbing signs of insanity in many circus animals. The report stated that creatures frantically chew the bars of their  cages for hours on end, while some others endlessly pace backwards and forwards  between the walls of their cells.

According to the MPs, some lions and tigers can spend up to 90 percent of their time in cages,  and in extreme cases, big cats and bears may have less than a cubic metre of  space each.

Such suffering and cruelty is not confined to one or two “bad apples” it is common throughout the industry. Time and time again circuses up and down the country have been exposed by animal welfare campaigners. Video evidence amassed over many years and seen by Newsmonster shows animals, both here and abroad,  being belted with iron bars, camels slapped with broom handles and elephants hit with metal spikes. Such abuses seem almost routine.

In one circus, a lioness was even hit in the face with a  vicious looking metal pole. These are wild animals remember, and the only way of subduing them if they are stubborn is through brute force. Nature did not intend them to jump through hoops and spend their lives in cages.

Confinement in tiny cages, so small that the creatures can only move one or two steps, often drive animals insane through frustration and boredom. Yet the lions and tigers of circuses operating in Britain can spend over three quarters of their time in box-like traveling cages on the backs of lorries. Noble beasts immortalised by the Jungle Book and Narnia are reduced to little more than shambling wrecks.

But cruelty is not just inflicted on exotic creatures. Domestic animals such as horses and donkeys are also abused, and frequently whipped and beaten to make them perform. Horses and ponies, which should by rights be competing in gymkhanas, spend virtually all of their time tied up with short ropes and confined to makeshift stables.

And this is where the Animal Welfare Act could well fail some of the most vulnerable creatures of all. It is almost certain that the big noble beasts from far off lands will be banned in circuses but what about such British stalwarts as dogs, ponies and donkeys? Are they not capable of suffering as much as the more exotic species? Do they not feel pain just as acutely as lions and tigers? Sadly these poor creatures will receive precious little additional protection from the Animal Welfare Act.

If the Government is serious about ending the torment, abuse and suffering of circus animals then it should take the logical step of banning all performing animals.

Comments (8) >>

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written by kerry, September 07, 2008

i went to peter jollys circus and the animals seemed very well looked after and didnt seem a bit distressed before i went i thought the same as the protesters but my opinions have now changed towards that circus any way go and see for yourselves

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written by Jenni, June 21, 2008

Wot the Hell!! great british circus do not miss treat their animals! jumping from a stool to another stool is hardly un natural it is simply used instead of sticking a couple of stumps in the middl of the ing, animals hae minds of their own and if they don't want to do something, then they wont, martin lacy's out birst of sugesting to shoot the tigers is not a serious consideration! these animals have been brought up on circus and would not no how to survive in the wild. exotic animals obviously are put in cages and chained when outside because it is highly inconvinient for a couple of tigers to be running around town simply because people feel they are miss treated if they have a chain around ther ankle. unless you have lived in circus or owned exotic animals of your own then you clarly have no idea what you are talking about and should actualy visit a couple of circuses and see xactly how animals are treated. im not saying all circuses treat their animals right but stopping animal acts all together is destroying the traditional form of circus wich many people still want to see.

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written by Laura G, June 10, 2008

The Great British Circus is currently performing in East Sussex.. Is the ban on animals in circus' coming into place?

There are obviously people working for Jollys posting comments here. I would like to take them out of their natural environment and make them perform tricks on demand in front of screaming crowds.

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written by Katy, April 09, 2008

The ban can't come soon enough. Lets put these poor animals out of there misery. Animal circuses are the same as what comes out of my arse, s**t and smelly.

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written by Chris, February 04, 2008

Hi I am an avid animal lover, I have taken my grand children to see Jolly circus quite a few times now, and they love it. The animals do seem well cared for, and all the staff seem multi tasked. I personally did not see any cruelty and know that the animals are grazed in fields in Shropshire when performing locally. It was clear talking to Mr Jolly senior that he clearly loves his animals.

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written by lee, October 01, 2007

Simon,your comments are hilarious.you dis-agree with jollys circus and its use of animals but enjoyed the sight of a fox riding a donkey. Instead of wild accusations,you of you need to go behind the scenes and learn the truth instead of mis guiding the public with your lies!!

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written by Jenny, September 27, 2007

I vehmently disagree with the comments about Peter Jolly's Circus mistreating animals. Having worked for Jolly's I can verify as an outsider to the show, that the animals are well cared for and not mistreated. When you work in circus you see everything which goes on, and in smaller companies such as Jolly's, are involved in helping out at almost everything. Nothing is hidden, nothing could be. Horses, zebra, camels and similar are NOT tethered for long periods as suggested, they spend the majority of their time grazing, if weather conditions are suitable, within a large enclosure which is moved as they crop the grass. Animals are brought in for the shows, where they spend a minimal amount of time in stables where they are provided with straw, hay and water and under the watchful eye of experienced people. The whip is more a prop and a guide than a tool - animals are not whipped or beaten in training or in the ring - having witnessed horses being trained with my own eyes. Nor are horses and similar confined for long periods of time to travel - they are loaded into the horseboxes which then immediately move to the next ground where they are either tethered whilst the enclosure is put up, or released immediately into an enclosure put up before they arrived.

These accusations, when leveled against Jolly's Circus, are wholly innacurate. If you want to find out what the Circus is really like, go and work there for a few weeks. Circus is hard work, but it's not cruel to it's animals.

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written by Simon, June 14, 2007

I went to Peter Jolly's circus last night and I found it very disturbing. There was no bear - thank Christ - but every thing else was disgusting. The tent stunk and at one stage a horse nearly s**t on a performer's head. The show seemed particularly talentless and the only good bit came at the end: when the fox 'rode' the donkey. It looked so funny and the fox was just like a funny little huntsman in his smart red coat!

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