I remember going to the circus as a young girl. My hands, sticky with cotton candy, I clasped with excitement watching the trapeze artists, acrobats and silly clowns.
Then the elephants paraded out wearing enormous saddles and headwear, and the ringmaster called for audience members to pay and line up to ride the animals. I suddenly felt sad.
The animals in the ring before my eyes were not the same glorious wild animals I had seen in TV documentaries, living joyfully and freely in their vast natural habitat. No, these animals were different. I watched them somberly carrying kids around the ring, while a sharp stick occasionally jabbed them from behind. They looked sad and zombie-like. As if all their wild splendor had been beat out of them. Fast-forward to today, and now I know that circus elephants do have their their wild splendor beaten out of them. Literally.
Along with other wild animals often used in circuses like tigers, monkeys and bears, they are forced by trainers to perform confusing and painful tricks through violence and intimidation — including bludgeoning and electrocution. Their teeth and claws are sometimes removed. Their actions in the circus ring are controlled with whips and sharp bullhooks.
When not performing, they’re kept in cages or chains for prolonged periods of time. There’s little to no chance to do what is natural to their species, and the psychological stress manifests in repetitive, abnormal or unnatural behaviors like constant swaying, pacing and even self-injury. You can see this in footage obtained by Animal Protection of New Mexico, showing a Shrine Circus elephant chained at its Bernalillo County venue earlier this year here: https://youtu.be/oTQNa2GeYkc.
More and more people are recognizing the abuse and absurdity behind keeping wild animals captive and forcing them to do tricks under duress, and they want to ensure that companies doing business in their city are not espousing animal abuse.
Decades of protests have raised awareness of the issue, and many families have gone searching for other, more wholesome options for entertainment. The resulting years of ticket-sale slumps and mounting social media pressure recently led to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus retiring their elephant acts (later, closing altogether); other circuses are feeling the pressure to follow suit.
But circuses that still cruelly use wild animals in their acts come to Santa Fe every year — heavily marketed to children, often flooding local schools with free tickets — and those animals suffer for it.
Responding to a constituent whose concern has been expressed by many throughout Santa Fe, City Councilor Signe Lindell has introduced a proposed ordinance that would prohibit wild or exotic animal acts, such as in circuses or other traveling acts, from performing in the city of Santa Fe. If passed, this measure will ensure that circuses that employ wild or exotic animal acts either realign their business with humane values or simply be unwelcome.
The proposed ordinance was co-sponsored by Councilor Peter Ives and endorsed by the Santa Fe City Council’s Finance Committee. It will next be heard in a public hearing 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 200 Lincoln Ave., where Santa Fe residents can express their support for the measure.
Please also consider signing Animal Protection Voters’ petition in support of the measure at apnm.salsalabs.org/santafecircus and share with others.
Now more than ever, it is incumbent on us to nurture the empathy that naturally comes to children. This is Santa Fe’s chance to join the 71 jurisdictions in 27 states and many countries across the world in saying no to cruel entertainment and promoting a compassionate future.
Jessica Johnson lives in Santa Fe and is chief legislative officer for Animal Protection Voters and Animal Protection of New Mexico.
