Page 1458 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 11 August 1992
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and interact well with human beings. Their accommodation in circuses is similar to what can be found in zoos. The special needs of various species of primates need specific consideration, and the development of codes of practice for the care of primates is needed. The Circus Federation of Australia are to be commended for their efforts thus far to establish appropriate codes of practice for the care and well-being of all their animals.
There are eight to nine female Indian elephants touring Australia with circuses. As an import ban exists on bringing additional elephants to Australia and because no baby elephants are expected to be born in captivity, there will not be elephants performing in Australian circuses for long into the future. I was fortunate to see six elephants interacting when I visited the circuses last week. I was introduced initially to four female elephants, untethered, grazing contentedly under the supervision of their handler. The elephants showed no signs of distress. The elephants I noticed at some distance from this group were also untethered and some 15 minutes later approached the other group. As I had been informed that elephants form distinct social groups and tend to keep their distance from each other, I watched the impending encounter with interest. After some trumpeting, two elephants left the group of four and returned to their former place of grazing.
Due to the inclement weather of the day, I was informed that the elephants would not be performing in the ring that afternoon and shortly afterwards they left to be transported back to base in Sydney. The two remaining elephants apparently performed on Thursday evening, circling and engaging the attention of the crowd which had come to watch them. I believe the elephant trainer when he says that they will not perform any act they do not want to perform. One only has to see the size and mass of elephants to appreciate that.
Circus acts involving elephants have changed over the years. We no longer see elephants dressed up, performing silly acts with other animals or clowns. We see the dignified, awesome elephants coming into some form of social contact with the audience, guided by their trainer. However, I do not believe that unnecessarily transporting elephants for the benefit of making a protest to the ACT Legislative Assembly is appropriate for elephants; nor do I believe that elephants are better off in circuses or in zoos than they are in the wild - a view expressed by the Circus Federation of Australia. I also feel strongly that the elephants currently in circuses are unique, not wild, and trained to expect a different life from that offered to zoo animals. To conclude, I do not see the necessity of banning elephants from circuses in the ACT now. Time alone will ensure that we will not see them in circuses in the future.
Large cats, lions and tigers, also have been part of circuses, as we know them, for many years. Of all the exotic animals in circuses, I have had most concerns about the care and handling of large cats. It was with this view in mind that I went to see the tigers last week before their performance, during their performance, immediately after their performance and some time after their performance. I saw two Bengal tigers and two Sumatran tigers in their cages prior to the performance. They looked relaxed and uninterested in their keen observers. They groomed themselves and each other, lying down most of the time. The performance was not about making them appear ferocious and their trainer important. Times have changed. They sat on stools, jumped over each other, sat
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