Boswell’s Circus comes to the East Rand
Brian Boswell’s Circus has been entertaining audiences with traditional circus fun for the past 30 years, and locals have the chance to see its acts from November 5 to 10.
Trained horses and ponies prance into the ring with trainers Jane and Georgina Boswell, while perky pigs zip down a slide and poodles delight the crowds with their energetic antics.
Meet the cheeky goats and friendly alpaca, Nuzzle.
Not to be outdone by their furry colleagues, Brian Boswell’s circus’ talented artists have an entertaining line-up planned.
Acrobats team, Quantum Leap, will perform aerial acrobats, including a blindfolded pirouette high above the circus ring.
A contortionist will do her contortions on the aerial hoop, spinning metres above the sawdust while holding on by her teeth.
The circus will be situated on the corner of Finch and Atlas roads, in Atlasville, and is set to offer great family entertainment, not to be missed.
Brian Boswell’s Circus is a proud member of the Lions Club International and all registered charities are invited to contact the Circus Cyber Lions Club to arrange a visit to the circus.
On Thursday and Friday there will be shows at 3.30pm and 7,30pm, on Saturday at 2pm and 5pm and on Sunday at 2pm.
HEY MAN!!!! That’s nice.
Wow!! This is something I want to treat my kids to! (And myself) where can we find out more on the pricing and tickets?
Not a chance would I support this. Does anyone have any idea what these animals are subjected to?
I do not support any circus using live animals
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After what Carte Blanche revealed about Brian Boswell’s Circus I will definately not be supporting them in any way. Anyone who supports them are supporting animal cruelty!
No! Thankyou! I do not support animal cruelty. Its shocking that these circus’s are still allowed to operate. Somebody should stop them!
We will not be supporting the circus as long as they have live animals as part of their acts. Surely the public have not forgotten the terrible images of the way the animals are treated in Boswell and the owners attitude in response. Was part of the protest in Pretoria and Kempton Park and if one is called again we will be there in full force. Think before you support. Don’t let your children grow up without knowing right from wrong.
The message below is from me Noeline….. Not one line…. Silly iPad spell check….. Proud to have been part of the protest and wanted my name attached to comment
Will NEVER “treat” my children to an afternoon of animal abuse. .. Benoni city Times, how can you support the SPCA and promote the circus??? Especially after the abuse they inflict on animals was exposed on national television!!!
This should be STOPPED!!! How is ANIMAL ABUSE entertainment? Anyone who still goes to a circus who used animals is contributing to animal abuse!
MAKE THE USE OF ANIMALS IN CIRCUSES ILLEGAL!!!!
This should be banned. Are they aware that in the UK a law has been passed that as from 2015 no wild animals will be perforning in circuses due to the stress and abuse. It is so unnatural for a wild animal to do tricks, its actually quite pathetic to watch and so very very sad.
I do not support circus’s in which animals are used!!!!
I am disgusted that you are prepared to encourage people to see acts of animal cruelty! Tanya Bester – why dont we whip you and tie you up and make you do tricks in a hot circus tent without YOUR consent! How can you even put this in the newspaper knowing how wrong it is! Are you ignorant? Please retract this story and make your apology known. Read up about animal cruelty in the circus and know that other countries have banned it!!!!!
PLEASE – it is time that ALL animals are removed from circuses! It is happening the world over – Cirque De Soleil is magnificent – humans can do it – our animals are SUFFERING. You as a journalist should know this – go and google and see how many countries are NOT allowing animals in their circuses anymore
I think it is such a shame that you promote and associate yourself in any way with an organisation that has been exposed for horrific cruelty to animals (not just the Carte Blanche expose). It is time to BAN ALL ANIMALS from the circus!! How cruel to keep animals in hot trucks, trekking them around the country just to entertain ignorant humans. And SHAME on LIONS INTERNATIONAL for your involvement with this! I AM PROUD TO PROTEST against Brian Boswell Circus!!
Tanya Bester,
To quote you…
“My interests lie particularly with local people, animals, beauty and entertainment.”
What exactly is your interest in animals? Are you interested in animals suffering for your entertainment, are you interested in animals being tortured or are you just plain mentally challenged that you think that these animals WANT to do stupid tricks which they are trained to do by them being tortured and forced to live in captivity for your entertainment. Easily amused aren’t you Tanya?
Enlightened people will NOT support any circus that uses animals to entertain the public. These animals endure enormous stress travelling around the country and are often also subjected to inhumane training methods. It is time that SA followed the example of many other countries and banned the use of animals in circuses.
I will never give money to people who abuse animals. I wish they’d focus the circus towards human acts and leave the animals out of it.
Very disappointed in Benoni newspaper and Lions international for associating themselves with a circus that abuses and uses animals.
VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!
Disgusting circus
Reporter Tanya Bester you claim to have interests in animals yet you choose to promote an institution which has been exposed in the press of major animal abuse and cruelty? This is very sad! Boycott and Say No to Animal Circuses. Your ticket buys them a life of slavery and miseray. My kids certainly will not ever attend an animal circus. However small they are they know that animals do not belong in cages or circuses. They belong Free!
The use of animals for entertainment is barbaric and should be abolished!
Animal Abuse for money… no thanks wont be visiting!
No animal, domestic or wild should be used to perform tricks or acts of any kind for human entertainment!I would support any circus with talented human acts with great pleasure but not animals kept in confinment and made to travel round the country in cages.
Animals should never be used for financial gain. When will man evolve to realise this? This falls in the same line as animal testing. It’s a disgrace.
Hopefully people have evolved enough to realise the use of animals in circuses is not acceptable. I really wish for the day that we can see circuses not needing to supplement their inadequacies by using animals in their shows instead of proper circus acts using people.
With what we now know, and all the awful truths being shown about animals being kept in captivity, how on earth can you, Tanya, as an “animal lover”, condone or promote this circus? Please everybody boycott! Countries all over the world are sitting up, taking notice, and placing bans on using animals in live acts. Come on SA – get with the programme!
More and more countries around the world are banning the use of animals in circuses because it is well known that it is cruel to keep these animals in such confinement and force them to perform unnatural acts that they would never do in their natural environment. I don’t support circuses with animals and will never set foot in Brian Boswell’s circus. Rather support a circus with acrobats and trapeez artists who are very entertaining, but more importantly – are there of their own free will
Tanya, If you care for animals you certainly wouldn’t be promoting Brian Boswell’s circus. Where you born yesterday? Have you not been following the animal abuse reports on this circus & the Boswell family. Animals should not be used for financial gain, it promotes terrible acts of cruelty. Anyone paying to see this circus is promoting animal cruelty, so rather take the kids to the movies.
Oh no, don’t reporters think now a days before they write drivel about circus s being so much fun for pigs sliding down slides and other nonsense. Please Tanya, there are over 33 countries that have banned animals in circus s. Why do you think that is? Because people are evolving and becomming educated and will no longer tolerate cruelty and exploitation of animals. Crickey girl, do some research and open your eyes to what’s going on around you as well as the world.
I’m incredibly disappointed in the Benoni Times for affiliating itself with such a disgusting cause. Please do NOT support a company that is so unabashedly cruel. Animals being forced to perform tricks is not going to teach anyone anything about animal care and protection.
Animals do NOT belong in circuses!!!
I find the use of wild animals for entertainment is very degrading for the animals. Elephants do not travel well and they should respected and not made to become slaves to entertainment. If the circus was a human only circus I would support it without a problem. Please stop the use of wild animals.
Wild animals should not be in circuses,and if you were an animal lover, you would not be promoting any circus that uses animals in their acts. Before you write an article you should maybe do at least some research on the subject.
Where have you been Tanya that you haven’t seem all the scope on Animal abuse in the Circus, country after country are waking up to the fact and banning them. Here in Sa we are trying so hard to do the same then someone like you comes along and promotes it. You should feel ashamed promoting this terrible act of cruelty. Bann them all and let the animals free to live a good life not one of living hell!!!!
How very sad that when so many people are concerned about the plight of animals in circuses your newspaper sees fit to promote the visit of Brian Bothwell’s Circus.
Did you MISS the recent furore about the treatment of animals at this circus?
That they claim to be “proud members of Lions Club International” seems like a bit of spin doctoring.
Animals do not belong on chains, in cages, or jumping through hoops.
I hope you take note of Glynis Jones’ comments. She speaks sense.
You’re obviously not an animal lover if you so readily promote a circus that still uses wild animals in its acts.
I’m also disgusted to see that the Lions Club International is affiliated with this circus. I have always been an avid supporter of the Lions but won’t be supporting them in the future if they’re using my donations to support this cruelty.
How disappointing to see an article promoting a circus still using wild animals for entertainment. If the writer of this article had done her research she would know that more and more countries have banned the use of animals in entertainment because of the CRUELTY involved. As for the Lions Club, very sad to say my family have held positions in Lions Clubs most of their lives so this is even more disappointing. Shame on them :-(
It is disappointing that this circus is being promoted in this way. Brian’s Circus has been in the spotlight for animal abuse. This Circus has wild animals performing. This is not natural and informed persons are aware that the training process to force these animals to do what does not come naturally to them is both cruel and heartless. No one who truly loves and respects animals should support this. Using wild animals for entertainment should be made illegal and these animals should have rights. By supporting this Circus one is saying that it’s okay to treat animals badly and that their rights don’t matter. Please research and reconsider.
So sad that so many people still enjoy animals incircuses. What makes us think its okay for the animals to have to perform in such an unnatural manner.use humans to entertain humans!
I actually have nothing to say. Not because there IS nothing to say, but just because I don’t know anymore, how to ask and beg people to see what circuses are doing to animals. Especially wild animals. And then you have a journalist who is interested in animals. I will not insult her, as I think she is very young and has maybe grown up too protected and might not have seen the real effect of captivity has on animals. And what TRAINING in CAPTIVITY causes animals to go through.
A circus is not the way for any person, young or old, to experience animals. They should experience them in their natural form. Not on a ball, jumping through fire, crawling under chairs, etc. etc.
If this same journalist can prove that animals in circuses have a happy life, I would love to hear her facts. But I doubt if there are any.
I HAVE never, I WILL never support ANY circus who ABUSES animals for their entertainment.
How disappointing to see you and Benoni City Times promoting a circus that has just been in the spotlight for animal abuse!
Wild animals (or any animals for that matter!) do not belong in circuses where they are forced to perform tricks for our entertainment.
Im totally AGAINST animal abuse and I believe a circus is not a place for wild animals to perform. Its animal abusement! I wish SA will ban animals in circusees forever! They get abused like we saw on Carte Blance which is VERY wrong. God didn’t made them to get abused but some humans like the ones who own a circus just don’t care as long as they money comes in. God never sleeps and I wish people want to STOP supporting circuses with animals in it! The person who advertise the circus is just like the rest of the animal abusers. You can’t pretend yo care for animals if you advertising animal abusement! It’s time we stand up for those who can’t speak gor themselves!
Animals belong in their natural habitat not doing silly tricks for an uninformed audience. Take animals out of the circus. These animals are being stressed out by being transported from town to town and being kept in small cages. FREE ALL CIRCUS ANIMALS
Oh dear Tanya, one can read between the lines of your silly article, that you are a young and inexperienced journo! Do your homework before you write a weak and unresearched article such as this one.
I grew up thinking how amazing the curcis animals were in performing awesome tricks…..never even gave a second thought as to how they came to do these tricks. I now know better than to support the cruel abuse of animals, being used for monetary gain by performing unnatural stunts to entertain humans.
I am so saddened that the journalist who professes to be an animal lover is not up to speed with the times.Do you not watch Carte Blanche an award winning show for their investigative journalism?Brian’s circus was featured due to its HORRIFIC treatment of animals.Animals in Circus’s was something that happened in Victorian times ,in terms of animal right we have evolved,NO human with any empathy for animals would condone the use of animals in circus’s .It is antediluvian and should be treated as such.PLEASE Tanya,next time do your home work and see why no animal should spend its entire life either on the road or performing for human financial gain,TRAGIC!!
This is a joke!!!
I totally agree with the people below…. this has to be stopped. The only way is for people not to book and go… peoples perceptions have to change.. the abuse is disgusting and even saddened to see that the Lions Club is associated with them.
I just think that the trainers should be caged up day in and day out.. whipped a couple of times to see what it is like to be caged… I definitely will not be supporting the Lions club with their charity drives anymore…
Animals that live in the wild generally do not live as long as animals that live under protection in zoos and circuses. Think of the hundreds of elephant and rhino slaughtered yearly in the wild in Zimbabwe and South Africa. It is not in the interests of zoo or circus management for animals to suffer or die young; management call in vets when animals are sick. Until poaching can be brought under control and a way can be found for humans to stop invading the few areas where animals can still roam wild, zoos and circuses may be the only chance for some species to survive. The anti-circus rants here are not constructive. Rather visit the circus site yourself; see how the animals are treated; complain and protest if you see miss-treatment. On the other hand, if you find no evidence of cruelty, maybe come back to this story and report on your own observations. It would be interesting to find out how many ranters have actually seen animals miss-treated at a circus or zoo, as opposed to people who have just seen or read a sensational story in the media. Reporters unfortunately sensationalize stories. I think it is better to see for yourself. Go to the circus & see how the animals are housed. Pay for admission & see how they are treated.(Maybe watch how the children in the audience react?) Use a camera to record any perceived acts of cruelty; if you find any such evidence, send the photos to the BCT. If you find any evidence of cruelty you will be able to comment with authority. Let us not just have mindless third-hand rants.
I’m shocked that the Lions club is supporting this abuse. I always thought they were a charitable group but not any more. I think they ought to investigate any group they are going to put their name to. SHAME on them. Also any newspaper that let a very young and misinformed person, write an article on something she obviously hasn’t done a complete study on.
I have nothing against being entertained by acts of wonder and awe but the use of animals in these acts – especially those of the wild – is quite simply not entertainment at all. Circus rings are not places for these humbling creatures – no matter how tame and docile and ‘happy’ they may seem. The harsh life which circus animals endure and the overly common abuse they suffer should deter anyone who has a conscience from supporting these kind of institutions.
It is sad to see how unevolved the people in the country are. The world over, animals are being banned from performing in circuses. Animals are not entertainment, get a life and wake up.
In respond to the comment made “Why so many biassed comments?” Abuse was in fact recorded in the Carte Blanche episode which is available to be viewed on youtube should you have missed it. Also keep in mind that 33 countries have already banned wild animals in circuses for very clear reasons.
I am so happy to see that the corner of finch and atlas road no longer hosts the tent of sadness and pain… Although they are gone, my heart aches for the animals that are still kept hostage by those barbarians…
No thanks! Animal abuse does not interest me!
Where can I get free tickets LOL
It’s not easy being a journalist – don’t take it personal Tanya, even the Carte Blanche reporters get this type of response at times.
Dont take it personally Tanya; It’s just a bunch of emotional bunny huggers that incite each other on Facebook, having lost total perspective of the real issues in life. I bet you they will be quite disappointed when they realise how few animals are actually used.
My mom and I took my 2 year old daughter to go see the animals last year at Brian’s and I was disappointed to the see the state that they were in. There was no food or water in any of the enclosures. Even my little one started getting upset at the sight of the animals.
Never again will I take her. Shame on you