:: Sentenced for Life ::

Circuses: Plundering the Wild

	HATS off to...
	Sweden, Austria, Costa Rica, India, Finland, and Singapore for banning or restricting the use of animals in entertainment!
	Do you know that they only support circuses that use trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, tightrope walkers, and acrobats? They do not abuse animals for our entertainment.

Chew on this...

Elephants in the wild live up to 70 years; however, in captivity many die before they are 40.
An adult elephant can drink up to 225 liters of water per day; however, elephants in circuses are given water only at the trainer's convenience to prevent elimination at times inconvenient to them. With just a trunkful they take in about 4 to 8 liters of water!
An adult elephant in the wild will eat about 220 - 400 lbs of vegetation per day; however, elephants in captivity are fed just hay majority of their life.
An adult bull savanna elephant can weigh up to 16,000 lbs. Females of the same species weigh about 8,000 lbs. Elephants in captivity weigh at least 1,000 lbs lighter than their respective wild counterparts.
Elephants in the wild do not ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through rings of fire; circuses rip these magnificent beasts off their dignity by forcing them to do unnatural tricks.

Take on the Circus!

Are you upset about what these innocent animals go through and want to help them? You can start by boycotting animal circuses and supporting circuses that don't use animals.

When an animal circus came to a nearby city, our team gathered fellow activists and peacefully protested the circus by handing out anti-circus flyers, placing flyers at nearby stores and restaurants. In addition, we demonstrated peacefully by holding posters that told the people how animals in the circus suffer. We distributed over 200 flyers and one of the stores in the area actually refused to make space for circus coupons and made space only for our flyers! We have included downloadable flyers and posters to make it easier for you!

Download Flyer

References

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, " Town Without a ZIP Code," Feld Entertainment, Inc., 2004.
"Elephants Escape Circus," Associated Press, 13 July. 2007.
Howie Paul Hartnett, "2 of 3 Polar Bears Make It to N.C.," Charlotte Observer, 20 Nov. 2002.
P. Douglas Filaroski, "Animal Rights Activists Protest Circus, Recall Elephants' Death," Florida Times-Union, 20 Jan. 2002.
Randi Hutter Epstein, "Circus Life Drives Animals Insane, Two British Rights Groups Contend," Associated Press, 24 Aug. 1993.
Jan Creamer and Tim Phillips, " The Ugliest Show on Earth," Animal Defenders, Ltd., last accessed 22 Jun, 2007.
Louis Sahagun, "Elephants Pose Giant Dangers," Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 1994.
"Circuses Face New Ban," The Journal (U.K.), 27 Nov. 2000.
Moss, Cynthia (2000). Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family. IL: University Of Chicago Press.
Nature: Echo of the Elephants by Cynthia Moss (DVD - Aug 30, 2005)

Credits

The drawing of the elephant (pink) used in this comic story was submitted to us by Novi, a 14 year old boy, from Gradiska, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegowina. The rest of the comic was created by our team using this elephant. Thanks, Novi!
Photographs used on this page are copyright to our team.

Want to see drawings contributed by other children from around the world?
Check out our Global Gallery!