Health at Risk
Many people see animals just as entertainment and are unaware of the severe conditions circus animals have to go through which put their health at risk. Circus animal’s health is put at risk in many ways, the article “Experts: Circus Animals Abused” by John J. Lumpkin presents to us a severe case where a baby elephant lost its life due to lack of care. An eight-year-old elephant named Heather was found dead in a trailer because her health was abused. She was improperly cared for and developed complications of a salmonella bacterial infection. Elephants develop thick layers of dead skin, which are supposed to be scrapped of by the circus owners. In circuses this procedure is often dismissed, and if the removal of dead skin doesn't happen, the animal cannot eliminate heat from its body. Also since circus animals often travel long distances in cages they don’t have enough room like elephants in the wild to remove this dead skin by taking baths and rubbing up against rough objects.
Elephants are not for entertainment they are born to be free. This is a consequence of what can happen to circus animals while they are improperly cared for and only seen as a form of entertainment. Circus animals don’t receive the proper attention and care their health needs to survive, circus entertainment abuses their health. |