Bears do not voluntarily ride bicycles, elephants don’t willingly stand on their heads, and tigers are scared of jumping through rings of fire. So why do they perform these and other difficult tricks? They do these things because they know—and they dread—what will happen if they don’t.

For animals in circuses, there is no such thing as “positive reinforcement.” There’re simply varying degrees of punishment and privation. In order to force them to perform meaningless and often physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric-shock prods, bullhooks (heavy, spike-tipped rods), and other painful tools of the trade.

But thanks to the support of our members, no organization is more successful than PETA in exposing and stopping animal abuse in circuses.

This year, we celebrated one of those victories: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced that it will take elephants off the road by 2018.

For 35 years, PETA has protested Ringling’s cruel treatment of elephants, dealing the circus a series of crushing blows:

• Holding thousands of demonstrations outside Ringling performances from coast to coast, during which we convinced families (including ticket-holders) to boycott the shows
• Releasing photos taken at Ringling’s training center, where baby elephants are bound with ropes, stretched out, slammed to the ground, electro-shocked, and gouged with bullhooks
• Persuading national media outlets to publish these photos and meeting with newspaper editorial boards about Ringling’s abuse of animals
• Filing more than 120 complaints with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) since 1995 asserting Ringling’s violations of the Animal Welfare Act
• Running ads in newspapers and subways in various cities in advance of Ringling’s appearances
• Persuading numerous organizations—including corporations, schools, and libraries—to stop promoting Ringling

We were also just about to release damning documents proving that since 2010, at least 16 elephants with Ringling have tested positive for tuberculosis, which can be deadly and is highly transmissible from elephants to humans, even without direct contact. Ringling knew that we had this information and made its announcement right before we went public with it.

We’re celebrating this enormously important victory, but three years is too long for a mother elephant to continue to be separated from her calf and too long for animals to go on being hauled around in filthy boxcars. We will keep pushing Ringling to take these mothers and babies off the road immediately—and for other circuses to follow suit. We also do not want to see Ringling keep the elephants at its training facility for the rest of their lives, and we’re pressuring it to transfer the elephants to a reputable sanctuary instead.

Another major milestone in our Ringling campaign came in 2011. After years of numerous meetings and PETA’s prodding and cajoling, the U.S. government fined Ringling a whopping $270,000—the largest fine in circus history—after it allowed a lion named Clyde to die of heat exhaustion in a boxcar, killed an 8-month-old elephant named Riccardo who broke both hind legs during training, and violently beat a young elephant named Angelica with a bullhook while she was chained. The U.S. government hadn’t taken action against the circus for any of these gross violations of the Animal Welfare Act. But we were relentless—and we finally prevailed.

Over the years, we’ve tightened the screws on the circus industry in numerous other ways as well. After years as PETA campaign targets, the Walker Bros. Circus removed all elephants and exotic animals from its shows and the George Carden International Circus plans to phase out elephant acts within the next four years. We’ve also persuaded scores of venues to cancel circus appearances and have prompted fines, the denial of permits, and charges for animal-welfare violations against numerous cruel circus owners.

After being sued by PETA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was forced to end its 30-year practice of secretly issuing permits to abusive circuses (and to rundown roadside zoos and unqualified wildlife collectors) while ignoring the public notice and comment requirements of the Endangered Species Act.

Additionally, we’ve helped with the passage of numerous important legislative measures, including the following from the past five years alone:

• Ordinances banning the use of bullhooks on elephants in Fulton County, Georgia; Hallandale Beach, Florida; and Los Angeles and Oakland, California
• Ordinances banning exotic-animal performances in Somerville, Massachusetts, and Irvine and San Francisco, California
• An ordinance giving humane officers the authority to establish regulations for circuses in Sacramento, California

PETA’s international affiliates are also doing their part to stop the use of animals in circuses around the world. Thanks to PETA India’s nine-month investigation of 16 circuses, India’s Central Zoo Authority rescinded its recognition of six circuses as captive-animal facilities. As a result, numerous animals—including elephants, horses, and a camel—have been rescued and moved to conservation centers.

This year, PETA Asia embarked on a college tour of its Animals ≠ Entertainment exhibit bound for eight cities in China. PETA Germany helped rescue an elephant and several big cats from circuses and was instrumental in the passage of three city ordinances banning the use of wild animals in circuses. And PETA UK’s anti-circus campaign helped motivate members of Parliament to vote unanimously to ban wild-animal acts in circuses in England and Wales.

PETA was also part of a team effort involving many groups and individuals that resulted in a Mexico City law prohibiting circuses from using animals. Soon thereafter, the president of Mexico signed into effect a nationwide ban on using wild animals in circuses! Rest assured, we won’t give up until the U.S. follows suit!

Circuses can offer spectacular shows by leaving animals in peace and featuring only human performers like trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, tightrope walkers, and acrobats. With the growing popularity of circuses that don’t use animals, it’s clear that the public is embracing this philosophy.

What You Can Do

• When a circus comes to your town, organize a demonstration to inform the public that demeaning stunts performed by animals in the ring are the result of abusive training methods. Let your local news outlet know about the suffering of animals used in circuses.
• Start a campaign to strengthen the cruelty-to-animals ordinance in your community by adding language that bans the use of bullhooks and other devices intended to cause pain or that bans wild animal exhibits outright.
• Tell everyone you know why you boycott all circuses that use animals. Use our materials to explain your positions. Contact [email protected] or check out Circuses.com.

This article was originally published in PETA’s Augustus Club newsletter. PETA’s Augustus Club is a complimentary club honoring those who are leaving a legacy for animals through a planned gift to PETA. If you have made a planned gift to PETA, please let us know so that we can thank you! If you have not yet left a legacy for animals but would like information on how to do so, please contact us.