- Joined
- Dec 28, 2014
I remember going to an Eastern European circus with my family as a child. There were some animal rights activists outside protesting the treatment of the circus animals and showed people proof of the abuse they receive. At the time I really didn't understand what they were doing due to my young age, but it clearly spoke to my parents who also saw the poor state the elephants and large cats were in.
Going to a circus once made my father become a vegetarian for over a year, but the food either didn't suit his eating habits, or he just ate too much of low-nutrient foods, as he became overweight and then returned to a normal diet.
There's something fundamentally different between horribly abusing animals their entire lives for no reason other than entertainment and eating them. Also, wild animals like lions, tigers and elephants are really meant to be free. They're at the apex of intelligence and pretty close to human in that respect. By comparison, livestock are actually bred for that purpose. They would either not survive in the wild or would be a destructive invasive species (feral pigs).
I think it's possible to distinguish between inflicting needless suffering on animals for frivolous reasons like circuses and arguably necessary reasons like food.