It really hasn't been as entertaining in the modern age with all the safety regulations and concern for the well being of the Christians they used to throw in the ring with the Lions.

We do not condone human torture, so why should we accept animal cruelty? This is nothing more than forcing animals to go against their own nature for the entertainment of us humans. We pride ourselves of being an intelligent species capable of civilised thought and actions, but how barbaric is this?! This is just wrong.

As long as they are not harmed or ill treated!

people are aweful it makes me angry

LOVE THE CIRCUS!

Everybody needs jobs

Well the circus is cool but kinda mean 2 the animals! I mean think abotu if u were in the animals place.... =[

depends on if the animal enjoys it and is happy....

a life of captivity and forced preformence.not a life i'd want.i never go to the circus for this reason.

BOOOOOOOOOOOO! *throws shoe*

Sorry once again the animal lover heard too many horror stories about the animals in a circus I WILL NEVER GO TO ONE....no matter how much people try to convince me differently

I kind of liked it when that tiger ripped a new arsehole in that Vegas entertainer.  

I bet that boosted the slots handle. 

Going to the circus on some occasions as a kid, I never really thought much about such things. Most kids seem to have the nature of being amused by pretty much anything. Then they become adults and gain (supposedly) some wisdom along the way. Circuses would probably be more ethical to enjoy if they would eliminate all the wild animal acts. But then again, that's half the circus, and nobody has yet thought of any replacement acts that would appropriately fill in the time slots.

AH yes the circus...whipping, gnashing of teeth, the stench of dung.....so when's congress coming to town again? LMAO  Seriously, I think that eventually the animals will rise up and say " NO MORE!!! " and thus the animalistic revolution begins.

I hate the circus. When the animals had enough, and stomp on a few humans, there is a satisfying feeling that comes over me.

Bring out the Animals.. I paid $10 a person for this show.  Entertain me :)

I think animals should be used for jobs but not for entertainment!!!!

Only if the animals are pampered and babied!

its cute how they train the animals 2 do so many cool things. i dont like that they have 2 whip them n smack em n the face, scream @ em, n b mean when they dnt listen. they,re just animals n they wernt put on earth 4 humans 2 make $ off of.

they overuse the poor animals and they always look sick

it's not awful, but not great either

they get beaten!

Im ok with circus animals as long as they are properly cared for.

disgusting.......

Granted its for entertainment purposes.  These animals were brought in from the wild, and meant to live free.  Not a huge fan.

some circus crews are sweet with thier animals but some can be very cruel if the animals don't perform right

Nah.

depends on what animals that are using and what is that animals circumstances are.

boooo

what would a circus be without the elephants n stuff

I was in Hong Kong's Ocean Park watching a dolphin show and i almost cried!

Makes me laugh every time

Although some children dream of running away to join the circus, it is a safe bet that most animals forced to perform in circuses dream of running away from the circus.

Ugh.  Ambrose Bierce said a circus is where animals can watch humans "play the fool"

i feel bad for  the circus animals and hope they are being treated well. have not been to one for years when my kids were very little. they did not like it and thankfully we do not go anymore. it was sad to watch those animals.

Only problem here is when some angry lion or elephant escapes, and runs around terrifying people.

elephants are my soft-spot, when I see their legs chained it's like seeing human slavery. otherwise let the show go on...

If the animal is treated humanely, I wouldn't see anything wrong with this. But I get an awful feeling that they are not.

Hypocrites,But it is o.k. to teach rover to play dead,buy tommy a toy mouse to chase,teach polly to say hello.I prefer that the animals be afforded pleasent enviroments to be raised in but if a bear can dance in a tu-tu I would like to see it.Some animals are treated poorly while others are treated much better than the wilds would treat them.Let us focus on making sure the performers are all treated well so we can enjoy them in the beauty of their abilities

I am glad that the circus is "dying a slow death" - the same way the animals forced to participate in it die. I am very opposed to people profiting off the suffering of those unable to fend for themselves. It would serve us right if George Orwell's Animal Farm or 1984 someday came true.

I feel so bad for poor animals. Not that it's bad enough that human race left them without freedom, but they also torture them to entertain us. We stop at nothing don't we?

I don't like the caged animals, but the others probably don't have it so bad. I realize only certain nationalities have a tradition of humane treatment of animals and many must suffer before they get to and are in, the circus.

I don't like seeing animals in cages very much,and I certainly think there should be laws enforced to keep them from being abused or neglected.However,the Circus can be a magical experience for some folks.I see no reason why we can't enjoy the show but demand that the animals be treated well.Many of them might not fare very well if set free in their natural habitat-but I think that people who abuse them should be punished with jail time and heavy fines.

This is really simple to me. If you don't like the circus, for any reason (your moralistic slant regarding animal treatment and stunts, the storage and maintenance of the animals, the pathetic life lived by the animals, their depression, the annoying clowns, the risk of injury to an animal or audience member, etc.) don't go. This form of entertainment is dying very, very slowly. But, so long as people show up, laying down cash for their tickets, it will continue.

In my next life, i want to be in the circus.

I agree entirely with GoneAway. How can we see ourselves as the most intelligent animals in this world...we truly are not. Do you see bears getting us to perform in circuses?

I have heard so much about the cruelty to circus animals, and to elephants in particular. It's hard to discern between what is real and what is put out there by groups such as PETA, real or false. Every once in a while you'll hear about an elephant going berserk and rampaging through a town, perhaps an attempt at freedom. I can't help but feel sorry for them. With proper care, and observation, such as they get at zoos, it would probably be much more acceptable. A personal story: when I was a kid, a circus pulled into town. During the day I walked over to the circus with my friend Richard. We took a shortcut through an alley. As we came out of the other end of the alley, there was an elephant tied up with a chain around one leg, the chain was connected to a large iron ring that was in the ground. We heard the elephant screaming real loud and as we came out of the alley we saw a group of boys tormenting the elephant with a large pole, and staying just out of reach. Without thinking I ran between the elephant and the boys, trying to chase them away. All of a sudden something grabbed me around the waist tightly, I looked down and grabbed it and it was the elephants trunk! He squeezed me hard and I really thought that damned elephant was going to sqeeze me to death, suddenly he lifted me up and threw me about twenty feet, right over that group of boys. I couldn't believe it. I landed hard right on my rear end. I just sat there with a stupid expession, staring at the elephant. My buddy Richard walked up to me laughing, when the elephant shot a big, green snot at my friend's chest, about the size of a basketball, it splattered all over him. That elephant did that on purpose, I could almost see him laughing. Now how many people can say they've been tossed about twenty feet by an elephant. True story!

Last time I went to a circus an elephant was injured. It was disturbing for me and 10x worse for my children watching. I will never go to a circus again. They need to be put under.

First of all, circuses are just boring. Plus, I hate clowns so I must continually fight the urge to slap those little demons to sleep. I'm not always sure about the animals and whether they are receiving good or bad treatment. It probably depends on individual cases. Overall though - I just don't see the need for this.