One might wonder, did the exhibition for money, beatings, and slavery of creatures, lead to ‘hey good idea,’ let’s do the same to vulnerable humans? Human slaves of every race, the Scots and Irish tribes and the clans to the British, the underclass of peasant farmers under Rome, the Africans taken by their own kings, the Aztec and Mayans and Inkans, also enslaved by their own kings, modern trafficking in human beings for ill-use. And the animals. Which brutal way of treating living beings came first, that of humans or that of creatures, we do not know.

It’s one thing to hunt for food, to provide in the most humane way possible (Vegetarians and some others would disagree I know) but it is another issue altogether to dress animals up and brutalize them for money.

In the days then and now of ‘flesh exhibition’ and exhibition of animals in circuses, both have similiar features though: for money, dress the unknowing up in gaud without grace, chain them, beat them with batons, pierce them with hooked sticks, keep them in line, bash them because you feel like it, to teach them a lesson before any lesson is ever needed. Intimidate them, make your line of girls and boys on public display fear you. They’re just mounds of fat afterall. Do not pay any attention to their cries. Hurt their legs, the tender places around their mouths, their trunks. Rake in the money.

Does anyone notice the humans who do this to creatures are enslaved too? In some funeral casket mentality that says a day’s wage and dusty pretend tuxedo ( as seen in PETA film below,) is a meaningful life? That battering the innocents for bucks is a worthy way to live?

Here, film released today by PETA whose filmmaker went underground at Ringling Brothers Circus, filming the battering of elephants behind the scenes as they ready to go out into the ring to sit on their massive weights on their tiny tails, and parade around in mating positions with their legs on each others shoulders, and looking for all the world like poor Dumbos in pathetic baby bonnets— far far beneath the elephants noble life that’s meant to be. The warning at opening of the PETA film is for ‘rough language.’ It ought also carry: Warning, you are about to see humans at their most base.

The article details Ringling Brothers fines paid in court for abuse of animals over the years, and a case before the courts now brought by a former Ringling Brothers elephant trainer who charges Ringling Bros with abject cruelty toward animals, amongst other charges.

Here is another film done earlier, about forcing young elephants to reproduce years too early, interfering with mother-bonding to child, and a segment of two trainers arranging for an elephant to drown pitifully for it had been taken from its mother before she could teach her offspring to swim. This second film, I’d just advise, is harder to watch than the first.

And one more film with an elephant trainer, screaming that the elephant’s foot ought be torn off, to sink the hook right into it… and the elephant screaming. I’d just say, you need to have strong nerves to hear this let alone see it.

PETA sometimes seems to have gone overboard in sounding alarms about matters that do not strike alarm in most. But in these works on brutality toward animals bought and sold into the circus, bringing the evidences to light clearly, makes them the few whistle blowers on the planet. YouTube is filled with short films of abuse of elephants. Just dock in PETA and elephants.

Here too is an article about creatures in zoos re how a Chinese zoo and its modern treatment of animals in human and well meaning custody, can mimic the stressed development of fatherless human children and human mothers who do not know how to bond and mother their offspring. The parallels, I think, are striking, and a lesson about how we might tend to both and all, with sharpened insight.

But/ And, in all, I’d say it’s past time for the animal circus to just cease coming to town altogether. Bring on the hoochie koochie girls, the strong man, and trapeze artists and the clowns. But lead the now old enslaved and battle scarred circus elephants to a place –and to people– where they will be cared for with knowledge, care, and love.

___________
CODA
With regard to the first PETA film noted above, Feld Entertainment which owns Ringling, today disputes the abuse charges, saying PETA released misinformation. Feld Ent said its animals are cared by veterinarians and staff, and that the show shown on film was in compliance with all regulations.

In my research today, I found that circus elephants are often trained by other companies and then leased to circuses. The Hawthorn Corporation was such a company. USDA prosecuted Hawthorn for violations of the Animal Welfare Act charging inadequate care, starvation, battering of elephants in its so-called care. Other ‘elephant and big game leasing companies’ have been prosecuted as well. Undoubtably there are some ‘big animal leasing’ companies all of whose employees are in compliance with all laws, say for instance in the film industry which is said by some to have much higher transparency… and care standards, depending on who has oversight for the caring.