When I was a kid in the 70s, I went to the Ringling Brothers Circus. I’m ashamed to admit I even went as an adult. I guess I can forgive myself. I was oblivious. I wore blinders. I didn’t know any better. But last fall the plight of elephants crashed into my consciousness, making me painfully aware of the threat they face in the wild, and then later, the cruelty they endure in the circus. My rose-colored glasses were shattered.
It started with a news report about the poaching crisis in Africa. Fueled by the insatiable demand for ivory in China, African elephants are being slaughtered at alarming rates, driven to the brink of extinction. It’s estimated that 35,000 elephants were killed in 2012, and that, if this rate continues, they will be extinct in the wild in ten years.
Find out what's happening in Pasadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
I sobbed when I heard that story. It wasn’t just the scale and ruthlessness of the slaughter. The numbers are so large, they’re hard to fathom. No, it was learning about elephants’ emotional intelligence and how those still alive suffer.
Find out what's happening in Pasadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Elephants grieve, not unlike us. They bury their dead, covering their bodies with branches. They return to their loved ones’ bodies for years afterwards to mourn. They’re suffering immense emotional pain and stress from losing so many of their loved ones.
Elephants are like us in other ways, too. They have a lifespan similar to ours, living up to 60 to 70 years. They are highly sensitive, intelligent and fiercely protective of their young. They get depressed.
What kind of world do we live in that such a peaceful, intelligent species is being pushed to extinction for some ivory trinkets? What kind of world do we live in that the majestic, empathic elephant is forced to do silly tricks year after year, in postures unnatural for their large bodies, for our “entertainment”?
The cruelty elephants endure in the circus is not fiction. They spend most of their lives in cages or chains. They are trained using whips, bullhooks and electric shocks. They travel long distances in box cars sleeping, eating and defecating in the same cage. Elephants in the circus suffer extreme physical and psychological deprivation.
Love the circus? Please, do some research: Google “circus cruelty” and watch the YouTube videos. Read the investigative reports and the court cases. Look at the photos of shackled elephants. Take off your rose-colored glasses and let the truth pierce your heart.
Love the circus? Love elephants instead. Join the growing chorus of people working to ensure they no longer have to endure the cruelty of life in the circus.
Love the circus? Love elephants instead. Help raise awareness about the devastating loss of elephants due to the ivory trade. Join us for International March for Elephants October 4, 2013 - Los Angeles:
https://www.facebook.com/events/265970723544144/
