Your Guide to the Reality of Animal Circus



"The academic panel concluded that there appears to be little evidence to demonstrate that the welfare of animals kept in travelling circuses is any better or worse than that of animals kept in other captive environments" - Executive Summary of the DEFRA Circus Working Group 2007

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Thursday 20 November 2014

'Bullhook' has been mischaracterized

Stylized illustration depicting a cobra and an...
Stylized illustration depicting a cobra and ankus or elephant goad. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Elephant trainer, Janice Aria, articulates an excellent counter-argument to the AR propaganda being pushed to ban the use of the ankus (aka bull-hook or elephant hook) in elephant handling in the below opinion article for the Richmond Times. Although Rouster applauds the overall message put over in the circus novel and feature, "Water for Elephants", which celebrates what good care can be given to circus elephants, sadly it reinforces the bullhook myth. Her article looks at the facts relating to the care, handling and training of circus elephants, based on her experience and the data available.