Image via WikipediaI only have to look at the Zemanta suggestions for related articles or tag words to see how little a presence positive circus news has on the internet. It is very easy for a politician or a lay person to believe that the majority do, in fact, back a ban on the use of animals in circuses. And yet animal circuses are frequently packed and the very existence of the animal circus in the UK, a country that has perhaps the longest history of opposition to the very business and culture they spawned, proves to a rational person that this is not correct. Unfortunately the shrill and aggressive voice of the minority paints a different picture. As can be seen with the recent "debates" in Parliament, opponents of animal circuses hit out at their target with little fear of repercussion. Circus people are rarely critical thinkers, which is a shame given their cultural heritage including such tricksters as P.T. Barnum and the great grandfather of sceptical activists Harry Houdini. This is why the average circus person or supporter rarely investigating their attackers. If they had have done then perhaps they might have been able to stem the tide of academic pseudo-philosophy, profiteering by so-called charitable organizations and grass-roots fanaticism and terrorism their descendants face today. Gail Wilmot is a critical thinker and just the sort the circus community needs fighting their corner if it is survive. In this small episode that exposes both the blasé way an average opponent of animal circus feels they can attack the business and culture, and how a little research and a lot of patience can turn up the truth... I first came across this story when someone put the link to it up on a Facebook page I visit. Upon visiting the Ponybox website and reading in between the lines I knew it had to be a made up story straight away as in it the girl said that the whole of the courtyard area was concrete. If that was the case how did the horse have muddy feet?
A lot of people went on to challenge her but she was insistent it was true and she had taken the photograph at a Circus by the name of Georgie Smiths that had supposedly visited Chippenham in Wiltshire. Someone from the Ponybox website had commented saying they had contacted the RSPCA in Wiltshire, and various media and anyone else that could say whether a Circus had visited. No one had any record of any circus visiting and the RSPCA hadn't rescued any horses from any Circus. As some of the comments were from the Circus community they knew that there was no such Circus and know how well the UK Circus animals are looked after. Because I like a challenge I set myself a mission to find the real source of the photograph used. It took a good couple of weeks of trawling through Google before I came across that very photograph and upon finding it felt like I'd struck gold. At last, the truth! .
Before the word 'horse' or 'horses', I had been putting hungry, starving, starved, malnourished, thin, skinny, and many more. I found it upon putting neglected horse. I had to scroll right down to page 53 but it was there. I clicked on it and the information told me the photo was actually of a horse called Rascal that had been rescued in Kentucky, US of A.
I will admit it wasn't easy looking at the skeletal photo's of one of my favourite animals, it was extremely upsetting but to help save the good name of the Circus it was a task I felt I had to do.
Recently there has been much public outcry at the case of Anne, the elephant belonging to Bobby and Moira Roberts, what wasn't widely published was that the camera was left in place for over four weeks, then, instead of taking it straight to the Police or the RSPCA they went straight to the papers, this was a supposed Animal Welfare group that set up that camera, if they cared about animals then why didn't they have that camera down and report the abuse within an hour, the 'groom' hid his face with his cap and his hood, I have to question why he felt the need to hide his face when he supposedly didn't know he was being filmed, funny how he disappeared at the same time as the camera did. Another animal welfare group are currently advertising a $10,000 reward for eyewitness' to 'abuse' against animals being used for filming. I would have thought that they would spend this donated money on defending animals, which is what the money has been innocently donated for, not to encourage more people to go out and stage abusive footage. This is why I cannot believe a young girl would stoop so low and be as callous to make up a story like that. Was she paid to make up that story? I don't suppose we will ever know but it just goes to prove how low these animal rights people will stoop to get their lies across to the gullible public.
<impressive, well written!
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