Circus of horrors
Anger as tigers, bears and leopard are made to perform in big-top
AT the crack of a whip, tigers sit up and beg on spinning podiums at a stomach-churning circus in Russia.
Even before the show began, the audience could pose in the foyer with a shackled tiger, leopard, monkeys and a kangaroo in scenes that would distress most in Britain, where the use of wild animals is almost a thing of the past.
Inside, the big cats were “encouraged” to play leapfrog. One tiger then had to balance on a giant glitterball before another sat with the tamer on a golden sleigh and was hoisted 60ft in the air.
After the big cats – seven tigers and a
lion – left the arena, two muzzled bears were led in. They did handstands, headstands and forward rolls before dancing with their human partners.
An announcement had been made before the Moscow show saying photos were banned – and security staff pounced on anyone spotted trying. One woman barked “Niet, Niet, NIET!”, at a boy of around eight taking pictures.
Shaken audience member Itsuki Ito, 29, from Japan, said: “I was upset by what I saw, especially in the foyer. A leopard and tiger should not be chained for chil- dren to stroke.” Jan Creamer, of Animal Defenders International, said: “We are calling on Russia to stop circus suffering.”
Labour MP Luke Pollard said: “Wild animals should be in the wild not in circuses being tormented for entertainment.” But a staff member at Nikulin Moscow Circus said: “The animals are happy, well fed and well cared for.”
NAYA, an Amur tiger, has emerged from her den with her four cubs for the first time at Whipsnade Zoo.