Maplewood Fourth of July Circus - Please consider NOT supporting

@ridski - I agree with you.

I totally remember the alligator. It freaked me out!

TarheelsInNj said:
I totally remember the alligator. It freaked me out!

I remember the alligator. My suspicion was they put it in cold storage before the show. It looked pretty sluggish.

I'd like to put together a petition for a non-animal circus for the Maplewood 4th of July and post a link to it on here. Suggestions welcome on wording. Then the thread will be "done" for me I think.

I'm pretty sure you can't teach many "tricks" to an alligator, but where did they keep it when it wasn't "on stage"? I would guess a crate and not a large habitat enclosure....

Here is an article about an alligator in the Ringling Circus.

"You'll be OK if he doesn't come straight at you," T.M. says, uncertainly.

Backstage at the circus, staffers usually affect a certain seen-it-all nonchalance. But they all seem to be running away from the gator, which T.M. has left to its own devices.
The very nervous publicist from Feld Entertainment (which owns Ringling Bros.) is muttering something about this crazy stuff all taking place on her watch. The Tribune photographer has announced that what Friday readers will really want to see is a rear view of this animal.
And T.M. is playing around with the scaled beast as it glares back with anger in his eyes. "He's waiting for us to get clear," says T.M., with nary a touch of irony. "That's what ambush predators do.""Does he have different moods?" I ask.

"He has pretty much one mood," T.M. replies. "It's called `I'm gonna take your head off.' Right now, he's wondering how he can get his name in the paper."
I wrestle things back to the main issue. Surely, these creatures don't really do anything. After all, they don't actually have ears to hear a trainer's commands.
"They're individuals and they can sense the vibration of sounds," T.M. says, a tad defensively. "They're mythical creatures. Snakes go way, way back."

The people at Ringling, of course, are used to questions about whether creatures would all be better off left in their swamps, jungles and ponds.
As is typical, they answer with some variation on the theme that many of these animals (including T.M.'s gators) are endangered creatures. "If people don't see them," Fahrenbruck says, "they won't care. We sneak in as much education as we can."
By intermission in Cleveland, T-Rex is done (he doesn't do bows). As he lumbers up the ramp to his trailer he has no idea he's a teacher's aide.
He'd much rather take your arm off."

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-11-08/entertainment/0211110249_1_snake-universoul-circus-feld-entertainment

carrielogo - I think a petition is a good idea. If you start now, you might even get some action on it...

Please no more petitions. Seriously.

Why don't you just volunteer to be on the committee? If you join the committee, you only need to convince the people on the committee to change their minds, rather than trying to convince 24,000 people. You may not succeed the first year, in which case you can try to get more of your like-minded followers on the committee in subsequent years and instill the change from within. That's the civic-minded thing to do.

I think people would be more than happy to still attend the circus even if there were no more animals in it.

The town does not run the 4th of July Celebration. The 4th of July Committee is not a public or even a quasi-public body, though the celebration is held on municipal property. I am not sure what impact a petition would have given the committee's private status.

I agree with the above poster who suggested that you volunteer to get involved in planning for next year's celebration. That would give you an insider's understanding of the problems and factors to be considered in planning for next year's activities and maximum face time with those making the final decision.

Does anybody think that there would be lower attendance at the circus if it had all human performers rather than animal acts? I don't. And it seems like it would make things easier for the circus also if they didn't have to take care of all those animals. What am I missing here?

sac said:
Does anybody think that there would be lower attendance at the circus if it had all human performers rather than animal acts? I don't. And it seems like it would make things easier for the circus also if they didn't have to take care of all those animals. What am I missing here?

What you're missing is that they've booked this particular circus for years, which has animal acts. Changing it requires finding a new circus - which, as mentioned above, would be done by members the July 4th Committee. It's actually not up to MOL, much as we might like to think we run the world

Doesn't the circus charge for the camel rides? I'd bet that they make more than a bit of money on that alone.

My impression was that the circus is a tradition, it is well attended, and to the 4th of July Committee my voice seems to be in the minority. It would be great to show that many people would be okay with an animal-free circus.

I am happy to volunteer! I don't like when people complain and then don't step up to help with all the work involved with making any changes.

It would be great if the 4th of July Committee could help convince the Zerbini Family Circus to make the change...

They used to have Vidbels Olde Tyme Circus (they do bareback horse tricks and novelty dog shows too....) so it isn't unprecedented to switch to a different Circus.

Are there any good non-animal act circuses that are available to play Maplewood on the 4th of July and that would charge about what the current circus does or less? If yes, does any such circus have a good reputation for safety and reliability and putting on a good show that would be attractive to Maplewood 4th of July audiences? I don't see the 4th of July Committee dropping the existing circus for another one unless they have a viable alternative.

That argument sounds so familiar Joan...

joan_crystal said:
Are there any good non-animal act circuses that are available to play Maplewood on the 4th of July and that would charge about what the current circus does or less? If yes, does any such circus have a good reputation for safety and reliability and putting on a good show that would be attractive to Maplewood 4th of July audiences? I don't see the 4th of July Committee dropping the existing circus for another one unless they have a viable alternative.

carrielogo said:
My impression was that the circus is a tradition, it is well attended, and to the 4th of July Committee my voice seems to be in the minority. It would be great to show that many people would be okay with an animal-free circus.
I am happy to volunteer! I don't like when people complain and then don't step up to help with all the work involved with making any changes.
It would be great if the 4th of July Committee could help convince the Zerbini Family Circus to make the change...
They used to have Vidbels Olde Tyme Circus (they do bareback horse tricks and novelty dog shows too....) so it isn't unprecedented to switch to a different Circus.

I would volunteer. And I agree, if I complain I am willing to work on alternative solutions, so count me in.(I walk a tightrope almost everyday of my life and I have to juggle many items as well so I may volunteer to fill in for the camel.) I have no issue with the idea of a petition, sometimes it takes several approaches. You have done a very nice job of illustrating your point while being respectful to other posters. Its not easy to avoid getting shrill when a philosophy that you are passionate about gets repeatedly challenged. Thank you. Feel free to PM me.

Perhaps lobby the TC to pass an ordinance banning the misuse of non-domestic animals in circus acts in town?

dave said:
Perhaps lobby the TC to pass an ordinance banning the misuse of non-domestic animals in circus acts in town?

Well after the TC surprised us with a move from Associated Humane to St. Hubert's, I'd say they just might consider it. Bob Roe seemed very open minded. Could we make it an animal control issue? Start a rumor about rabid camels? Or wait, get St. Hubert's to rescue the camel. Of course I would run to adopt it, take the camel to South Orange and John Festa would hit me with some kind of exorbitant license fee and a fine for transporting an exotic animal across county lines.

There are model laws available online to serve as a starting point

http://www.animallaw.com/Model-Law-Circuses.cfm

I feel like JBs' story really hit home for me as well. The man who performs in many of the animal circus acts, who is indeed a man now, looked to be more of a young man or lad several years ago. He has grown up in the circus. While I understand there is passion for "saving" the animals (those dogs really did look happy and I saw them many times in the 48 hours they were in town), I do not hear the same empathy for the family. Can the people just go off and join another circus? This is their family, the people and the work they know. You go off and and join another family or find another career. Its not so easy! Nor is cutting one area of funding (the animals) though I am sure its not impossible.

This was a documentary I once watched that gave me insight into the circus life:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1541666/

Check it out!

Can't wait to see what all you passionate "pro animal" people come up with for the committee next year. Funnel all your energy into a great fourth and I am sure it will indeed be even better (if thats at all possible. the committee has done a great job to date!)

friendorfoe - I don't like to support businesses that exploit people or animals.

I've also read about the traditional Circus life - it is hard and can be pretty grim. Circus performers do join other circuses often. (The Flying Wallendas now work for Ringling and a Vidbel works at Big Apple Circus...). They aren't stuck in a family business any more than we would be.

The documentary you posted doesn't seem to be promoting circus life. Was your take away that that family should stay in business at all costs because their life and business model are so fantastic or did you just feel sorry for them? It looked awful. Would you attend that circus if it was in Maplewood? Also, Mexico just banned the use of Wild Animals in Circus performances!

The acrobatics are stunning on their own. I would hope to attend a Circus that pays the workers a living wage and doesn't exploit children.

I would be fine with having something different than a Circus, but people seem pretty stuck on the "tradition" of the 4th of July. I think rides, vendors, or food trucks would be cool and bring more money into the event.

dave said:
There are model laws available online to serve as a starting point
http://www.animallaw.com/Model-Law-Circuses.cfm

Interesting, it even mentions camels. I think the most accessible group to contact on this issue might be the Animal Protection League of New Jersey. The have lawyers that work for them and they might come up with something that would be acceptable to the majority.

For the record, the pro animal category seems to insinuate an anti people stance, and contrary to popular belief I was not raised by wolves. Do I dare say "some of my best friends are people?"

The circus has changed at least once, perhaps twice, since I have lived here (29 years.) It isn't like this is the only circus around. I remember Vidbels, for example.

I don't know if there are acceptable alternatives with no animal acts ... that would be up to the committee to research if they decide they want to do that.

I have pointed this thread out to the 4th of July committee (in an email in which I was discussing a donation to their efforts), so they are aware of it and likely checking in from time to time, even if they aren't posting.