Santa Fe should ban barbaric circus animal acts

We are truly grateful for Councilor Signe Lindell’s proposal to ban circuses and other traveling animal acts in Santa Fe (“City councilor proposes ban on circuses,” July 5). Santa Fe has a reputation of being a progressive city, which should be part of the worldwide humane movement that outlaws the barbaric form of animal acts.

Animal circuses, an archaic public entertainment dated back to the Roman antiquity (thus the word “circus”), have no place in the modern world. Behind the deceptive appearance of the colorful stage and cheerful music, animal circus is nothing but a torture chamber.

To turn these majestic creatures into money-making slaves, circuses employ all sorts of violent techniques in order to break the proud spirit of lions, tigers, bears and elephants. For instance, the use of bull hooks to train elephants by hitting on their sensitive areas such as the ears, around the eyes and the mouth.

Some circuses rent the animals from companies that do the training, very much like renting furniture shipped by trucks or by train. Circus animals are forced to be separated from their own families, chained and caged for life, deprived of natural function and movement. They are routinely beaten, whipped, kicked and prodded with electrical devices. How could any civilized society allows such brutality?

Many U.S. cities, counties and other countries in the world have made animal circuses illegal. Our neighbor, Mexico, banned the wild and exotic animal act in 2015. All signs point to the inevitable fate that animal circus will soon be a thing of the past. Even the largest and oldest circus, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, could not avoid its fateful end. More and more people are speaking out against animal performance, demanding to free these animals. The closing of the orca show in Sea World recently is just another example.

In the past, the Shrine Circus, which claims to be a charitable organization, has been able to come to our city year after year. The absurdity is, how could a charitable organization generate profit by uncharitable practices? Surely, they have other options.

Unlike the Middle Ages, we now have a great variety of healthy entertainment. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, devoted much of his discussions on happiness since he thought it was the main goal in human life. He defined happiness as an activity in accord with virtue; it is good for the mind and the body. In other words, one’s enjoyment is inseparable from ethical consideration, meaning one does not cause harm to others. There is absolutely no enjoyment from watching animals being turned into sad clowns.

Mira Fong is a member of Animal Protection of New Mexico.

Unlike the Middle Ages, we now have a great variety of healthy entertainment.