Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Purrs 4 Peace Week 22- The Circus isn't Fun for the Animals

Confucius Cat says there is no real PEACE in a world were animals are treated with cruelty.

Why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by What is above him when he shows no mercy to what is under him? ~Pierre Troubetzkoy

The Circus is supposed to be a place of amazement, adventure, entertainment... fun. But what is FUN for humans comes at a high price for the animals who are enslaved there and essentially subjected to torture to force them to perform tricks.


A circus elephant trainer was caught on tape saying "Sink that hook into ‘em ... when you hear that screaming then you know you got their attention. … "

Most animals who perform in the circus were meant to live in the wild. They must be trained to do these “acts” often by traumatic methods such as with the bull hooks driven into tender areas of the elephant’s body to make it cooperate referred to by the trainer quoted above. Animals are shocked, whipped, hit with baseball bats and pipes, drugged, burned...the list goes on.

The lives of performing animals on the road is not humane. According to the ASPCA it is “not unusual for performing animals to travel in fetid railroad cars for up to 50 weeks out of the year. Confined in small cages or by short chains for 20 or more hours a day when not performing, they live in environments that bear no semblance to their natural habitats.”

The ASPCA has supported a ban on use of animals in circus entertainment as a result of these factors.

And once these animals are too old to perform, they most often permanently caged, sold to be hunted, or sold for lab research.

What can we do:

  • Do not attend or otherwise financially support any circus that utilizes live animals in their performances.
  • Petition for and support legislation on local, state and federal level to ban such animal entertainment.


This week we will do one more thing...we purr. We purr to soothe the suffering of these animals. We purr for the enlightenment of the humans who control these animals. We purr to free these animals. We purr for PEACE.

Week 22 of Purrs 4 Peace details are as follows:

  • Appointed time is Sunday, November 8, 2009.
  • Participants should purr for three minutes commencing at 11 a.m. EST (U.S.) which is 4 p.m. (16:00 hrs.) BST in the U.K.
  • The cat’s human staff should assist their cats with the project by stroking and nuzzling the cat at the appointed time.
  • Please post your cat name and the country you purr in at www.confuciuscat.blogspot.com as a COMMENT if you are participating in this historic project. (posting a link to your own website-if you have one-is encouraged.) Or let me know by message on twitter or facebook.
  • Posting purrs on facebook ( Acolytes of Confucius Cat or as friend to Alley Mason) and twitter (@ConfuciusCat) is encouraged, since it inspires purring in others, but not required. On twitter please use #purrs4peace in your tweets.


Peace * Paix * Frieden * Vrede * Pace * Paz * Shalom * Salaam *

6 comments:

Angel Gracie=^o.o^= said...

You are so wise. How can we expect world peace as you said when the furries are being treated so badly at times.
The mom here is going to participate on Sunday picking me up and getting some snuggle time for peace.

Cindy said...

We won't go to a circus.
cindy

Brian's Home Blog said...

My four sisters and I will be purring extra hard this week.

Anonymous said...

We don't like seeing those animals treated like that in the circus. It's sad. We are sending lots of peace purrs your way today and effuryday!

dangerkitty said...

We don't attend the circus for this reason. Furries need to be treated with love and respect, not like props for a show.

We'll all be purring on Sunday.

Anonymous said...

How I enjoyed going to the circus as a child! But as a grown up I haven't gone to a circus show in decades, and knowing now how animals are treated, don't think the chances of seeing me there will be likely. I find a certain aura of sadness in a circus. I legislation is passed so these animals are protected. Signed: Smokey8 fr Twitter