The Great British Circus

FATE OF OUR CIRCUS ELEPHANTS


Trainer Lars Holsher and his elephants are one of the main attractions of the Great British Circus
Wednesday August 19,2009
By John Ingham
SHOCKING images of circus elephants being beaten sparked fresh calls yesterday for a ban on wild animals in the Big Top.
An undercover video shot by Animal Defenders International shows three elephants crying out after being hit on the head with a big metal hook, a broom and a pitchfork.
A circus worker is also seen twisting an elephant’s tail.
The animals, part of the Great British Circus, were said to be left chained up for 11 hours at a time.
It is also claimed that when the circus moved five miles from Watford to Bushey the elephants were kept in a trailer for more than seven hours.
In the film, an African elephant called Sonja, born in the wild but bought after her mother was shot in a cull, shows the classic signs of mental disturbance – including rocking, swaying and head bobbing – which are often seen in animals held in captivity.
ADI, which used a hidden camera to make the film, claims it witnessed “a staggeringly high level of casual violence” in just a few days at the circus.
The pressure group’s chief e xecutive Jan Creamer said: “In the name of entertainment these elephants are beaten, jabbed with hooks, chained up for hours a day and pushed into a metal box each week where they remain for hours on end while the circus moves.
“This is an indictment of the circus industry and also the Government, who have failed to fulfil their commitment to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. This investigation shows how animals like elephants suffer in the circus.
“The public wants a ban, Parliament wants a ban, animal protection groups want a ban.
“Surely it is time for the Government to take action to stop this suffering right now.”

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A spokesman for the Great British Circus, which stars elephant trainer Lars Holsher and also features lions, tigers, reindeer and camels, refused to comment on the allegations without seeing the footage.
But he said: “The campaigners’ refusal to let the circus see the material shows that they do not want to give us the chance to defend ourselves fairly. It is a legal requirement that the trainer of any animal has the means of restraining it and the accepted way of restraining an elephant is to use a hook.
“It would be irresponsible and contrary to health and safety requirements to have an animal in public without adequate means of control.
“It is perfectly acceptable for elephants to wait in their purpose-built travel accommodation with food and water while their stable is erected.”
The circus’s website describes claims of maltreatment as “laughable”. It says their trained movements “are based on natural behaviour” and adds: “Patience and reward are the secrets of success.
“No one here hits animals – doing that would confuse them and prevent them learning.”
It claims that the elephants spend only three hours on average once a fortnight in their transporters.
A spokesman for the Environment Department said: “Work is under way on whether the Government should regulate the use of wild animals in circuses and is due to be completed later this year.
“This does not stop anyone who is aware of a problem from reporting it now.”