War of words rages over circus’ visit to Amanzimtoti

OVER 100 protestors braved Saturday, 14 July’s wind and rain to make their voices heard outside McLaren’s Circus in Hutchison Park, Amanzimtoti.

Last week’s front page article about the call for a circus protest stirred a range of opinions on the matter, and saw people take sides in the for and against camps within the community.

Incase you missed last week’s article: Calls for protest action as circus comes to Amanzimtoti

Those against the use of animals in circuses made themselves seen and heard at the roadside for two hours before the afternoon show was to take place. The diverse group urged passing motorists to hoot in support of their campaign to end the use of animals in the circus, and hoped to get those already headed to the circus to consult their consciences.

“The protest was a huge success with over 100 people taking part throughout,” said Ban Animal Trading (BAT) KZN representative, Tara Aberdeen. “We used banners and posters with informative messages about the archaic practise of using animals as entertainment and a source of income.”

Circus owner David McLaren argued that circus-goers also love animals, which is why they continue to attend the shows.

“They love to see beautiful animals up close and working with me in harmony,” he said. “We are not the only people who rely on animals. The medical industry, supermarkets, butcheries, clothing industry, film industry, cosmetic industry, sweet industry and restaurants all rely on animals for an income,” he said. “Your very own newspaper relies on animals for income. Your paper takes money from advertisers that sell dead animals for food and cosmetics which were once tested on animals,” he told the Sun.

Check out the full gallery: Amanzimtoti rallies for McLaren Circus protest 

While McLaren called out those opposing the circus for illegally removing his posters from poles around town, Aberdeen distanced her organisation from these acts.

“We have successfully approached local businesses and discussed the unethical use of animals in this circus, and a number of businesses have chosen to remove the posters,” she explained.

Aberdeen said the protesters received a lot of positive feedback from the community who hooted in solidarity and signaled in agreement when passing by.

“We noted that the show was nowhere near sold out, which is an indication that times are changing. The McLaren Circus is the last circus in the country which still makes wild animals live in cages and jump through hoops, a very old-fashioned practise already banned in over 40 countries globally,” she said.

McLaren argued: “If times are changing, why have we sold out every weekend for the past two months? Yes Saturday was very cold and it was not sold out. We did have over 250 people attend the 3pm show, which is slower than other Saturdays but the Thursday, Friday and Sunday afternoon shows were better attended,” he said.

The animal rights activist shared a story with the Sun of little Arianna.

“A little girl, Arianna and her father were driving home when they saw our protest. The seven-year-old asked her dad if they could stop and join us as she wanted to help the animals. They explained they had attended the show the previous night and that Arianna had become extremely upset when seeing the tigers and lions made to perform. She had asked her family if they could leave early. The next day, they saw us by chance and joined our protest. What a compassionate little girl,” beamed Aberdeen.

McLaren commented that if this was the case with all circus-goers, he would not be able to run his business with animals. “People would walk out all the time and my business would close,” he said.

Aberdeen commented on McLaren having had repeatedly told the media that his animals are pampered and that the use of them is legal, even passing inspections by the NSPCA.

“We want to make it clear that although the animals may not appear physically abused or malnourished, their confinement, training and forced behaviour in circus acts is unethical and a practise which is outdated and should no longer be tolerated. Just because something is currently legal, does not mean it is morally acceptable. Laws are updated and changed. The NSPCA have also made it clear on their social media that they do not personally support the use of wild animals for monetary gain and entertainment in circuses,” she said.

“This is a moral issue,” said McLaren. “If an animal is abused, you would be able to see it. How can you claim they are abused but you cannot see it? What nonsense statement is this? Yes the SPCA do inspect us all the time. The SPCA is also against animals in zoos, petting zoos, birds in cages, horseracing, show horses and so on – they are not just against the circus.”

Aberdeen reiterated her view that animals, domestic or wild, do not belong in a circus. “They are made to live in tiny enclosures, spend the majority of their lives travelling on the road, are subjected to grueling training routines, expected to perform on demand and are not allowed to live or behave naturally. A circus is a place for people; local circuses have the potential to create jobs for talented South Africans,” she reasoned.

McLaren questioned whether the protesters had seen the play arena attached to the lion cage where the lions and tigers go out and play on the grass all day.

“The animals sleep for up to 20 hours a day,” he said. “We move from town to town, we travel short distances, we spend weeks on various sites, so how could we possibly be spending the majority of the time travelling on the road? The animal acts are short and only a few minutes each. BAT knows nothing about my circus. If so, it would have noticed that 90% of the content is human and talented South Africans too.”

The circus owner further questioned why the protesters don’t go help at the local SPCA. “There are thousands of animals brought in by the community, and most end up being unwanted and killed. Rather focus on people who do not care and love their animals. Here at McLaren Circus, our animals are our pets. They are loved, cared for and receive the best treatment,” he said.

Amanzimtoti SPCA manager spoke on behalf of the animal welfare organisation.

“The SPCA movement does not believe wild animals should be used for entertainment purposes,” she said. “Wild and domestic animals must be allowed to live and behave naturally in their environment. We were inundated with phone calls from members of the public asking us to stop the circus. Unfortunately the only way to stop the circus is for people to stop supporting it. Our inspectors carried out their routine checks and were on scene to observe a show on the evening of Thursday, 12 July.”

BAT volunteers confirmed they will continue to peacefully protest this circus as it moves through KZN. “Whether it is one or 100 of us, we will be the voice for the animals,” said Aberdeen.

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