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"Animal rights activists protest circus"
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A group of citizens concerned about animal treatment and safety at the Shrine Circus held a protest outside of the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex yesterday afternoon.
The Citizens Against Animal Circuses want to see the city ban exotic animal entertainment such as circuses in Waterloo.
"It's time that Kitchener-Waterloo passed a law prohibiting performing animal acts," said Robyn Maler, a CAAC member and PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo.
When caged and trained, animals such as jungle cats and elephants become disturbed and could have psychotic episodes, she said.
While the CAAC would like to see all forms of animal entertainment banned in the city, the group especially has concerns about the Shrine Circus, which performed at the rec centre Tuesday evening.
The CAAC claim that the Shrine Circus has a history of animal abuse and that keeping the animals in such tight quarters poses a danger to both trainers and audience members, Maler said.
The training the animals go through is especially harsh, she added.
"You can't make a bear ride a unicycle by giving it candy. You have to use harsher methods like Tasers, whips and torture," she said.
Maler was expecting at least 30 protesters to show up yesterday afternoon, but was hoping for closer to 100.
And the group is not just worried about animal rights.
"It's not only a concern of the animal's safety," Maler said. "There are numerous cases of (circus) animals injuring trainers or breaking free."
But these are old claims that the Shrine Circus has been dealing with for close to a decade, said Larry Solheim, general manager of the circus.
The circus is fully insured, meaning it must not be a high-risk business, he said. "We are not labelled as a risk industry, I think that's an important fact," Solheim said.
The circus does not generally use high-risk animals, he said. Two elephants are the only "exotic" animals used.
At every stop the Shrine Circus makes, they are inspected by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and have had no violations in Waterloo, he added.
The issue, then, is not a legal one, but a moral one, Solheim said.
"The question is whether or not you approve of the use of animals for entertainment," he said. "Certainly there are some circuses that treat animals poorly. Don't group us in there.
"There are people who shouldn't have animals at all. But if you look at our track record, you can judge us by that."
Ward McAlister, executive director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society, said that the animals at the Shrine Circus are well taken care of when they come to the city.
"We've never had any issues I know of," McAlister said.
Credit: Chronicle Staff