WAAG is against the use of all animals in entertainment, here in Windsor and everywhere else. The Shrine Circus is the only one left which still uses animals in its shows here in Windsor, so no specific circus is being "singled out" of "unfairly targeted" - unlike the elephants and other animals who are tormented and exploited. That we are against all nonhuman animals in circuses is the reason why we may have a sign or two with tigers and bears on them at our demos. Elephants may be the largest, but they are not the only abuse victims enduring a lifetime sentence of misery and slavery.

     WAAG worked with City Council for three long years, and on August 26, 2002, for public safety reasons, a legal bylaw was passed in a 7-1 vote to prohibit all travelling and performing animals acts within the city - circuses themselves were never banned.

     The Shrine Circus (via Xentel DM Incorporated) along with Garden Brothers Circus and other wealthy special interests sued the city to force their wants upon Windsorites and in September 2004 the Ontario Superior Court unjustly struck down the legal bylaw as being "outside the city's jurisdiction" under the false pretense that it was enacted for animal welfare reasons (only true as a technically as we humans are animals).

     Animal welfare was within provincial jurisdiction only at that time, though this is no longer the case. This strongarm use of the law disrespects the wishes of Windsorites through disregarding laws put into place by our elected officials who act on the behalf of city residents. What it demonstrates is that private organizations and businesses have more say within a city than it's own citizens do.

     The Shriners were not banned from holding shows within Windsor, and even before this time, circuses without animals were shown to be highly profitable and advantageous (Cirque du Soleil). This highlights the irrational want of exploiting others in these shows which is not in the slightest bit necessary.

· The shriner's are the only charity in Windsor to use wild exotic animals as a fundraiser (Hospice and Cancer Society, among others, raise a considerable amount more money than the Shriners, and they rely on walk-a-thons, concerts, galas and auctions etc).

· We of course think the Shriners, historically, have done great work, but they shouldn't, nor do they need to raise money unethically on the backs of others, whether they be human or nonhuman. Setting a positive example should be a priority; the work this organization has done for the kids, or children themselves should not be exploited or used as an excuse to commit injustices against others, after all, these unwilling performers may not be human, but they are still someone elses children, and are "trained" from infancy.

· Many people who support circuses may argue by saying "but I didn't see the animals being mistreated". Of course not. It is what you DON'T see that is the problem. The major concerns with circus animals are with how they are trained and how these animals [prisoners] are carted around from city to city, day after day. The majority of their time is spent in isolation in trailers, referred to as "beast wagons", which double as latrines. A Windsor Parks & Recs employee, in an attempt to defend the Shriners, inadvertently confirmed some of these routine abuses by stating "...as soon as they arrived...the trainer guy asked for water...a hose to spray them and their trailer with..." - long trips with no water or proper sanition ('bathroom breaks') is inhumane. Not all abuses leave visible scars; mental trauma and abuse resulting in PTSD has shown to be more devastating than physical abuse.

· Quite simply there is no humane way to train and travel with a 10,000 pound animal. They are deprived of having a normal life, choosing a mate, gathering food for themselves, swimming/bathing and travelling up to 100 miles a day - they have zero freedom or choice, which is something our society claims to hold high in value...atleast when it comes to our own "master species".

· If you care about then support their habitat and ensure their survival. Aside from possible and near meaningless PR token gestures, circuses do nothing to help these animals in the wild, or to even educate the public, it's all about exploitation for profit. When we talk about 'animal abuse' - to a large extent we are talking about these animals not having a quality life worth living. Animals should not be used for our entertainment.

· Circus owners will say that these animals are treated like "pets" or "as part of the family", but the sad reality is that it's not the animal that is valuable, it is the PERFORMANCE of the animal that is valuable. Anyone treating family members in their care as the circus does would have them removed by the authorities and face an array of criminal charges. What happens when the animal is no longer able to perform? Or what happens when the animal becomes aggressive or dangerous? There is rarely ever a happy ending, if it weren't for the efforts of organizations such as the Tennessee Elephant sanctuary, there would be none.

· Wild animals are dangerous, especially within a city and around crowds - not all stories end as well as the extremely lucky 2007 Newmarket incident where things could have easily gone horribly wrong. Even the world's most experienced trainers, Seigfried and Roy could not predict or prevent an attack; wild animals are unpredictable, that's why they call them "wild animals".

· Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so by making it direct to the organization, there is no need to endorse animal abuse, child enslavement or human endangerment to do so. THERE IS NO NEED TO PATRON THE SHRINE CIRCUS OR SUPPORT SLAVERY AND CHILD ABUSE (elephants are "trained" from childhood); for those who wish to donate, the best way to help the Shriners Hospitals for Children is to make a donation directly to the hospital. (PLEASE make a note stating that you do NOT want your donations being wasted on frivolous animal experimentations - which include burning nearly half the entire body of numerous dogs - that are conducted at hospitals or contracted out to other facilities)

     In contrast to the glitter associated with circuses, performing animals' lives are traumatic and short lived. Because animals do not naturally ride bicycles, stand on their heads, or jump through rings of fire; whips, electric prods, and other tools are often used to force them to perform. Add to this the stress of extensive travel, confinement in dirty, undersized cages, and inadequate food and water supplies, and you have a day in the life of a circus animal.
     Any form of entertainment that uses animals, particularly wild animals, is exploitative and should be overhauled. It is 21st century, yet there are still circuses and other shows displaying animals as if they were freaks, forcing them to perform idiotic and dangerous tricks. (How animal "training" is really done ) Besides the difficult and often dangerous nature of the performances, these animals are made to carry on regardless of illness or injury. They are then caged or shackled when not performing, and loaded onto boxcars for the move to the next city or town. Animals have been stolen, and have died while in transit from one show to the next.

     Because of the enormous size and strength of elephants, trainers rely on bullhooks, chains, shocks and other forms of physical abuse including bondage as well as fear to make them obey. Some elephants spend almost their whole lives in chains. The abject lifelong abuse endured by these gentle giants can cause them to snap at any given time, which may result in injury to abusers and general public, and PR spinners to scream "rouge". In the wild, the life expectancy of elephants is 70 years, the same as ours. In the circus, they are "lucky" to average 25 years of "life".

     Elephants in circuses are rebelling in attempts to escape their sad existences. Since 1990, elephants have killed at least 18 people and injured many more. In Canada elephant attacks have taken place in Quebec, Calgary, and Toronto.

     In 1994, during a Shrine Circus show, an elephant killed her trainer and injured 12 spectators before being gunned down by almost 86 bullets while running terrified through downtown Honolulu for over 25 minutes desperately searching for what she had been deprived of nearly her entire life - peace and freedom.

     In Palm Beach, Florida, the police--at the request of the owner of the Great American Circus--stepped in and drew their weapons. A crowd of spectators had already encircled the scene. "All the people were yelling," one bystander recalled. "They were saying you shouldn't shoot that animal."

     The audience had chosen a side in this struggle, and it was not with the circus. Alas, the police paid no mind and began their barrage: firing a total of 47 bullets into the elephant. Janet lay prostrate on the ground but still alive. Fifteen minutes later, an officer arrived with larger bullet casings and finished her off. Janet's body was taken to the local garbage dump and unceremoniously discarded. Not all stories end well.

     Officer Blayne Doyle, who had to shoot 47 rounds into Janet, an elephant who charged out of the Great American Circus arena, noted: "I think these elephants are trying to tell us that zoos and circuses are not what God created them for. But we have not been listening."

     No one should be surprised when an elephant, tiger, or some other captive wild animal strikes back at his or her tormentors. These unique individuals - sentient and intelligent - are made to appear cartoonish, performing asinine tricks that are in no way natural for them. It is no wonder some eventually snap. Others can be so stressed from the inhumane training methods, illness, pain, crowd noise, bright lights, and so forth that they spook and cause themselves or others injury.

     Public safety is jeopardized when wild animals, subjected to difficult living and travel conditions, are allowed to perform in close proximity to the public, without adequate caging, stand-off barriers, and appropriate emergency equipment protocols. Wild animals can be unpredictable; their natural, instinctive behaviors can surface at any time. The danger can be reduced, but it can never be eliminated.

     According to elephant trainers Alan Roocroft and Donald Atwell Zoll in their book Managing Elephants, an Introduction to their Training and Management, approximately 100 deaths have occurred in circuses and zoos since 1980 due to elephant attacks, while another 50 or so injury causing incidents occur annually in North America. As well, each year a number of elephants are destroyed because they are deemed too dangerous to work with.

     Despite safety concerns, circuses and other traveling shows continue to allow elephants and other potentially dangerous animals to perform in front of the public with few safety precautions. As an added revenue generator, many shows even offer animal rides to the public. With virtually no restrictions on the entry of animals into Canada, many acts criss-cross the border at will. Animals that have proven dangerous in other jurisdictions may become featured performers in circuses touring Canada. Numerous instances of animals reacting in unanticipated manners have been documented - usually with tragic consequences.

     A pair of trainers at a fair in Marlborough, Massachusetts was smashed up against a wall by a 37 year-old Asian elephant named Minnie. Both individuals were critically injured. A spokesman explained that the elephant, while being loaded with a group of children, shifted her position and accidentally bumped into the handlers. Visitors, on the other hand, gave a different report. They said that a trainer hit Minnie near the eye with a bull-hook. As one onlooker added, "people think the animal got crazy, but it was provoked." The elephant was just trying "to defend itself."

     Several years earlier, at the New York State Fair, there was an incidence similar to that of the one involving Minnie... This one happened in September of 1994 with anelephant named Mickey. The 15-year old elephant had been enslaved by the King Royal Circus. During a performance in Lebanon, Oregon, he refused to do a trick. The trainer shouted and promptly gouged the elephant in the neck with a bull-hook, drawing blood to the horror of the audience. A few people called the cops. After the show, the handler was arrested and hauled off to the city jail.

     Responding to the incident, the King Royal manager fumed that "these animals can become killers." and "What I'd like to do with these protesters," she continued, "is take our nicest elephant and put it in their back yards for about an hour. Then they'd see just how much destruction one of these guys can really inflict." Knowing their destructive power circuses continue to bring these powerhouse behemoths into our municipalities and endanger both citizens and property. Our police force is not even equipped or trained to handle a passive stray deer properly!!

     "The use of elephants for public rides is strictly prohibited as such activity unnecessarily increases the possibility of zoonosis and human injury." (Standards Exhibiting Circus Animals in Nova Scotia) Tuberculosis, Staph, and multiple strains of pox infections are just three known dangers to human health that can be spread from wild animals (i.e. elephants) to humans at circuses and zoos. As unlikely as transmission may seem, or indeed may be, is letting your child pet or ride on an elephant truly worth the risk? Any risk?

     It is nothing more than wishful thinking to claim that local, provincial/state and federal agencies consistently monitor the circus. No government agency or humane organization monitors training sessions, where much of the abuse occurs. These agencies also do not observe animals during transport. Circuses are on the road for most of the year, which means that animals spend months living, and sometimes dying, in trailers and boxcars as the circus travels to its next destination.