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While being greeted by slogans such as, “Your pleasure, their pain! Wild animals do not belong in the circus!”, hundreds of visitors streamed in to see the circus on Saturday, seemingly unperturbed by the message of animal activists from Beauty Without Cruelty (BWC).
Since the McLaren Circus pitched their big top at Fairbridge Mall in Brackenfell last week, their shows that include among other acts various animals – two lions, three tigers, horses, ponies, and poodles – have been sold out to eager audiences, according to circus boss David McLaren.
As long rows of people were queuing up to get their popcorn and candyfloss ahead of the show, a small group of protesters set up at the entrance to the circus on Saturday; their message loud and clear: “Entertainment should never come at the expense of animal welfare.”
According to Toni Brockhoven, chair of BWC an animal rights organisation established in 1975, recent incidents including distressing findings by the SPCA, have highlighted the grim reality faced by animals in circuses. “Reports of animals in compromising positions have sparked outrage and a call for change. Circuses often involve long, gruelling hours of confinement in small, inadequate spaces, denying animals essential physical and social needs,” she says.
“Under natural circumstances a lion would roam 10km per day, space a circus enclosure does not allow. They spend months travelling in small spaces, the stress of continued confinement and inadequate accommodation and exercise areas, all representing stressors for captive animals. Animals are obliged to perform and when circus goers go home and the children had forgotten about it, the animals go back into cages,” she told TygerBurger.
“Animals used in circuses, are forced into unnatural behaviours for the sake of entertainment, resulting in long-term psychological and physical harm. Captive born does not mean domesticated. As we move towards a more ethical future, over 50 countries have already implemented bans or restrictions on the use of animals in circuses, recognising the inherent cruelty of these practices. Let us choose animal free circuses where we can be amazed and enthralled by human performers who choose to be there,” she says.
Warning issued
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA states that it is opposed to wild animals in circuses, saying wild animals belong in the wild.During a previous visit to Cape Town in March 2022, the SPCA issued McLaren’s Circus a warning after an inspection yielded at least six contraventions of the Animal Protection Act, according to a media statement by the SPCA. The circus was given 48 hours or in some cases seven days to address the issues raised. Some of the contraventions highlighted in the SPCA’s report where that of a lioness that was found confined to the front compartment of the trailer housing.
The lioness did not have access to drinking water and did not have access to the other compartment thus separated from the other lions, and the outside exercise area.
According to the SPCA the compartment afforded inadequate space for the confinement of a lion. Concerns were also raised about the dental state of three French poodles, Jamie, Sasha and Kiemie.
Furthermore, the animals, particularly the lions and Bengal tigers, had to be provided with additional environmental enrichment, to alleviate captive stress.
The SPCA found the wooden log that was provided to the big cats in each exercise area to be insufficient, and the animal enclosures were found to be unhygienic and had a putrid smell. Spokesperson for the SPCA Belinda Abraham confirmed that the circus complied to the warnings and that no charges were henceforth brought. She says an inspection was done when the circus arrived in Somerset West in March this year. “Although the SPCA is opposed to wild animals in circuses, there were no contraventions in terms of the Animals Protection Act, and the circus had all their permits in place. The inspection was proactive. We will inspect again reactively in response to any reports of cruelty from the public,” she says.
The circus responds
McLaren Circus spokesperson Karl Hildebrandt says people against performing animals isn’t a new concept. “There are organisations that have become big and extremely wealthy in the name of ‘animal rights’. We are not in the performing arts industry to defend ourselves, especially against animal rights organisations or activists, that often do very little field work in caring for any animals, instead, we are willing to provide insight and knowledge on how we operate and care for our animals. McLaren Circus is not in the business of causing harm to any of our animals. This is not to their benefit and will be to the detriment of their health and well-being. It will also pose a safety risk to our trainers and possibly the audience.
“We have only ever used positive reinforcement training when it comes to the training of our animals. This meaning, we work on a reward system for positive behaviour that’s displayed and ignore negative behaviours, giving it no attention.
“Animals in a South African circus, along with talented human performers, has been a huge drawing card for audiences across South Africa. The recent years have shown us how many South Africans truly appreciate the special relationships our animal trainers maintain with our animals.
Hildebrandt says the animals are not restricted or confined during travelling or performing.“All our trailers and animals’ yards are specialised and built for their needs and safety. As our animals are in our care, we need to always ensure their play enclosures and trailers are clean and safe.“Our animals are never forced to perform, especially anything unnatural, as accused by BWC. They are welcomed with treats and if they decline to respond, they are simply either left alone or sent back to their enclosure, for their comfort and safety. All our animals only perform what they are naturally capable of doing. We do not associate or subscribe to any form of abuse to animals. We understand the laws that govern performing animals, the protection of animals and the safety at events.”
Licences, permits in order
He says the circus was issued permits in terms of the City’s Animal Keeping By-Law for their visits to Cape Town since 2022.“In terms of this by-law, the City’s events department must receive comment from an authorised inspector, prior to the city issuing our event permit. Therefore, without the SPCA’s consultation, through inspection and monitoring acceptable conditions and welfare of our animals, we wouldn’t have obtained these event permits, for events in Cape Town.”
In addition, he says, the circus is required to have a Performing Animals Protection Act license, an annual license they have been renewing since 2015.“The licence is issued by a state veterinarian from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. A state veterinarian inspects our animals, ensures their environment is conducive to the animals and all their welfare requirements are met. Any state vet may inspect our animals at any reasonable time, without warning, and this does happen. From our experience these vet’s are always very happy with our animal’s condition.”
The list of animals on their license include lions, tigers, horses, ponies, camels, snakes and dogs.
Hildebrandt says the circus travels for around 11 months per year, with December being a resting period for the animals and staff. “For this we set-up camp at our facility in Midvaal, where animals still receive around the clock care and daily exercise, but aren’t expected to travel or perform, which to them, has never been an issue, as it has become part of their daily routine.”
He says there is no evidence of cruelty against their animals. Referring to the 2022 SPCA inspection he commented as follows: “Being our third visit to Brackenfell, and having no further action taken by the SPCA on the matter, since the warning was issued, how has this reclaimed relevance two years after it was made?”
During TygerBurger’s visit to the circus grounds, one family was seen turning around at the gate abandoning their tickets. Cynthia Walter said she has paid R600 for tickets for her family to visit the circus but was not aware that animals were used in the circus. “I do not think animals should be part of circus acts and was not aware of this when I bought the tickets”, she said.
TygerBurger approached other visitors, none of whom were prepared to speak to the newspaper.
Saying the McLaren circus is the only one left in the country to use wild animals in their shows, Brockhoven added that as an organisation they had nothing against the circus where amazing human performances can be enjoyed. “Should they withdraw their animal acts, we will be their biggest supporters.”
