This afternoon we ventured over to the circus royale which was going on in the grounds where the previous carol concert had been held over the road from us. We sat in the front row of the circus tent. I was very impressed at the acrobats they had...their strength and flexibility was amazing...it was all going fine until they brought on the animal acts. 4 horses all with their heads strapped in to their chests were made to trot round with stupid looking feathers on their heads. I could sense the sadness and fear in these horses. Their eyes looked so sad. They were made to jump over this metal hoop - horses naturally want to streth their necks when they jump but their heads were secured so close to their chest, their movements were restricted. It was horrible. These horses knew the stupid routine off by heart they had done it so often. At the end of their act they were made to line up one behind the other and mount their front legs onto the horse in fronts back. It made me wonder how they trained a horse to do such an act - one can only suggest blocking the horse from moving sideways and forcing it to keep going forward towards the horse in front until it has no other option but to try and climb over it? The cow act made me even sadder...one cow tried to go the wrong way and the 'ring master' went to walk up to it and the poor thing looked so terrified it ran back to the outside of the ring. The cows were made to stand on a raised platform so that a little shetland pony could canter underneath there legs...it seemed a pointless act of entertainment and i dread to think about the punishment and misery they have put the horse and the cows through to do this. The cows didnt move for fear that the ring master would approach them. They had a dog show but the dogs seemed to enjoy jumping through hoops as they got a treat after each routine and their little tails were wagging with excitment. The geese however was sad - being tapped with a whip to go up a slide just to slide down it...not a natural thing for geese to want to do and having their wings clipped...so sad. At half time gaz and i left and didnt return, we were too saddened by what we had seen.
When i got home i did some research on the circus animals, in particular the circus royale. People claiming animal rights people dont have a clue and members of the public saying ;the animals looked happy in the show' and 'they have been grazing around the back of the tent' thus concluding they are well looked after. Sorry but the animals need to eat, hence why they are grazing but no one has really seen the way the animals are treated when they are being trained...i cant help but feel the animals are scared senseless into doing what the ring master wants them to do. I feel terrible for paying to see this show.
This evening brightened up our day though. I picked Jacqui up (a dental assistant from work) and her friend Denete...i drove them to our house where we drank MOET champagne on the balcony (it about £50 a bottle out here!). We then got a limo down to a restuarant called the pavillion where we enjoyed a 5 course meal. We talked all night and were in stitches at some of the things being said. The owner even came over to saw how nice it was we were enjoying ourselves so much. At midnight we were given some champagne by the owner and we enjoyed the view of the hervey bay fireworks being set off by the pier, from our table. It was a great night had by all. happy new year everyone!
i didnt take this photo but this is a picture of the pavillion restaurant.
I alao share your concerns about the performing animals. I just don't 'get' it.
ReplyDeleteOn a more positive note I'm also sure that 2012 is going to be even better than 2011. Ian x