The Circus Is For Clowns

The Ringling Bros. Circus performs tomorrow thru Sunday at the Staples Center. I remember going to one of their shows when I was young, and yea, at the time, it was fascinating to watch tigers jump through hoops and see the elephants walk in a circle with their trunks intertwined with the next elephants tail. If I only knew as a kid what I know now.

The fact is, animals do not naturally ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through rings of fire. To force them to perform these confusing and physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other painful tools of the trade.

In this video, elephant trainer Tim Frisco instructs would-be trainers how to dominate elephants and make them perform circus tricks. “Sink that hook into ’em. When you hear that screaming, then you know you got their attention.” An elephant trumpets in agony as Frisco’s bullhook, with its sharp metal hook and spiked end, tears through her sensitive skin. Frisco, a Carson & Barnes elephant trainer, learned the trade from his father, a former trainer for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

I wonder how Mr. Frisco would feel if he got a bullhook sunk into his no-no hole…would that get his attention? I will never take my (future) kids to a circus, watch this video and hopefully you won’t either.

Source: Circuses.com

Posted by thuy