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September 15, 2005
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September 15, 2005 |
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EDITORIAL Lions Club should drop circus act The Yellow Springs Lions Club has been sponsoring visits to town by circuses for 35 years, including one last weekend. That’s a long run, and presumably, the club has been successful in its attempts to raise money. Nevertheless, it’s time for the Lions Club to stop bringing circuses with animals to the village and instead find fundraising activities that more local residents can support. Members of the club may not want to admit it, but by sponsoring performances by circuses that use animals, the club is endorsing the practice of holding captive and, at times, mistreating animals. An organization like the Lions Club should not be supporting activities that engage in such techniques as keeping animals in captivity and teaching animals to perform demeaning, unnatural tricks. Circuses that feature animals provide an outdated and unnecessary means of entertainment. As the Humane Society of the United States says, circus training methods include beating animals and depriving them of food. Circus animals have their spirits broken. An undercover video, obtained by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and available online at www.circuses.com, shows a trainer for the Carson & Barnes Circus, which the Lions Club sponsored last weekend, abusing an elephant with a bullhook. Circus animals spend most of their time locked in small, dirty cages or traveling around the country in railway cars or trucks without heat or air conditioning. When not performing, circus elephants are kept in chains. John Hart, the Lions Club circus chairman, said that the club grosses an average of $5,000 to $6,000 when it brings the circus to town, making a visit by a circus the organization’s biggest fundraiser. The club does put these funds to good use, donating the funds to eye-care-related causes, a tradition of Lions Clubs, and this year, contributing the proceeds of last weekend’s performances to efforts to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. But Mr. Hart also told News reporter Lauren Heaton that the number of Yellow Springers who attend the circus here has declined, he believes, because of the protests and calls for boycotts that accompany a circus visit. Unfortunately, Mr. Hart said the Lions Club plans to continue sponsoring circus performances in Yellow Springs. The Lions Club is not a public board, and its members are not obligated to consider public opinion when making decisions about club activities. However, in the case of the circus controversy, the Lions should. Fewer villagers are coming out to the circus because, we have to assume, they don’t want to support businesses that exploit animals for entertainment. This means that the Lions are receiving less money produced locally to donate to worthy causes. The Lions, and others, such as the victims of Hurricane Katrina, could benefit more if the club found fundraisers that appealed to more people. By listening to those villagers who have asked the Lions to stop working with circuses that offer animal acts, the club also would build good will in Yellow Springs, helping the organization raise more funds and spread its otherwise needed work farther. The bottom line is there’s simply no good reason for the Lions to support and promote controversial fundraisers like the circus. If the Lions want to continue sponsoring circuses to raise charitable donations, the club should seek out circuses that do not use animals, and instead feature all-human performances. This is the only way to ensure that the club, and therefore its patrons, do not exploit animals for financial gain.
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