Boycott circus cruelty

The circus is coming to town. The billboards are up and they are heartbreaking.

They show a man with a huge baton orchestrating six tigers that are standing on their hind legs with their front paws in the air.

These are sentient creatures who deserve to be living out their lives in their natural environment, not living in cages, trained by fear and coercion, and hauled from city to city to perform tricks for humans.

Wild animals belong in the wild. Ringling Brothers has already bowed to public pressure and discontinued elephant acts. One reason it gave was its inability to give elephants the type of environment necessary for their mental and physical well-being.

If a circus is not a fit environment for elephants, what makes Ringling think it is fit for their other wild animals?

Rarely can you change society by sitting home and doing nothing but here is your chance. By boycotting the circus, you are letting Ringling know you find nothing educational or entertaining about animal cruelty and that until they discontinue the use of all wild animal acts, you and your family will be staying home.

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Boycott circus cruelty."