THE BALLOON MAN

Circus sparks controversy

This is not natural,’ resident says

Circus returns. While one resident is accusing the Shrine Circus of cruelty, Larry Solheim, general manager of TZ Productions, which runs the event, says this just isn't the case. file photo By Amanda Persico

Jun 13, 2011

from: yorkregion.com (Canada)
The Shrine Circus is returning to town Wednesday for two shows and along with the animal performances comes controversy.

Newmarket’s Susan Morris claims the circus’ two Asian elephants are examples of animal cruelty.“Look at their eyes,” she said. “Their eyes are just dead. This isn’t natural and this isn’t the way it should be.”The largest abuse comes in the way the animals are carted from show to show and forced to do crowd-pleasing tricks, she said. “Elephants don’t do this naturally,” Ms Morris said. “You can see their broken souls.”

That is not the case, according to Larry Solheim, general manager of TZ Productions, the company that runs the Shrine Circus. The term “animal cruelty” is something activists came up with, he said. “We’ve never been charged with animal cruelty,” he said. “We’re inspected at every venue.

These people claiming animal cruelty are taking things out of context and using other companies as an example against us.

”Rather than put all circuses in the same camp, Mr. Solheim asks you consider the Shrine Circus on its own merits.

The production is family owned, with more than 10 generations of experience with exotic breads, Mr. Solheim said.

And with that comes knowledge and experience about how to make animal welfare the No. 1 concern.

Over the past 20 years, the company has participated in elephant transportation studies to find the best method of travel for the giant creatures. The trailers that carry the elephants are customized to provide for proper drainage, ventilation and temperature to keep the elephants comfortable, Mr. Solheim said. “We don’t put 10 animals at a time in a box car,” he said. “We engineer the tour so we only travel about 16,000 miles (25,000 kilometres) a year and our tour stops are within 60 miles (96 kilometres) from each other.

”The elephants in the TZ Circus production are housed in customized exercise pens, he said, adding TZ Productions was one of the first companies to tether the animals using custom-fit cotton.“It’s mad what people think,” Mr. Solheim said. “People think elephants and they think chains on their legs.

That’s not done anymore and we’re pioneers at that.”

The circus provides patrons with a learning experience.“We don’t just perform, we educate,” he said. “We want to give people a greater appreciation of what these wonders can do. You won’t find that in any book, video or picture.”But children are not learning about the animals, Ms Morris argued. “It’s like if aliens came down and wanted to learn about humans and we send them to the Don Jail,” she said. “This is not a learning experience. This is not natural. I love the circus, but it should be something without animals. The circus needs to change.”