The Shrine Circus is scheduled to be at the Shrine Center in Los Angeles next month from April 11th to 13th. I heard a spokesperson for the Shrine Circus announce today that this will be the first time in 88 years that the circus will not include performing animals. I was surprised, pleased and saddened all in the same minute.

A local association, the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has long been telling the Shriners that using performing animals – lions, tigers, elephants, bears, monkeys and “exotic animals” – to make money, is inhumane and should be a “thing of the past.” I didn’t find any mention of horses, dogs or seals. Presumably they wouldn’t be with the circus either as they also perform. Without the animals, it’s hard to imagine how different the circus will be.

We lived in Minneapolis for a few years. The day the circus came to town was a huge and exciting event for school children and their parents as well!  The circus arrived by train and the rail yard wasn’t very close to where the event took place, so the entire city was invited to watch the parade of animals and performers from the train to the auditorium. They knew how to put on a show and they knew how to create a buzz about their coming show – have a parade!

The circus wagons were so beautiful! They were individually decorated with bright red, yellow and gold paint and had very fancy wheels. The wagons were all pulled by horses with tack that was shiny and they had pretty white, feathery plumes on their heads. Music came from the circus band that lead the parade or calliopes between the wagons. Some of the many wagons had bars on the side and you could see the lions and tigers inside. Clowns walked or rode their funny bikes, trikes or cars in and out and around the wagons honking their loud horns. It was an experience you didn’t get by going to the circus.

The animals were all beautiful and looked well taken care of. What a thrill to see the elephants, also dressed in colorful headdress and blankets, walking down the street within a dozen feet or so from where you were standing behind barricades! Seeing those huge, lumbering animals up close was an experience you couldn’t get when sitting in your seat at the circus or visiting the zoo. I don’t remember anything degrading about it, just how thrilled and excited all the kids were. I know all those kids didn’t get to attend the circus so it might have been their only chance to see the majestic, rare animals up close.

Our children learned, from school more than home in most cases, that they were to Be Kind to Animals and that wild animals were to be respected because they weren’t in their normal habitat. It’s a good thing that we don’t want to hold wild animals in captivity any more but it’s also sad that many children will not have the wonderful experiences of seeing these animals except at zoos. What do you think?