BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY

From www.chroniclejournal.comThunder Bay, Canada

Letters to the Editor

This isn‘t the Shrine Circus I used to attendTuesday, May 11, 2010

Just taking my 2 1/2-year-old to the Shrine Circus for the first time I could not believe how disappointed I was. I felt the whole time there that this is definitely not the same as when I was younger.

I understand change and I know how it is for fundraising, but if the Shrine Circus wants to keep this as an annual circus I really feel they need to look at their performance, because truthfully they are really not child-oriented.

My child, who has probably one of the best attention spans any two-year-old could possibly have, was having a hard time watching the show.

Children want animals and exciting entertainment.

Don‘t get me wrong, the performances were OK, but not child-oriented.

And is that not who draws the most fundraising?

As a parent I will not be returning to the circus unless it gets a huge overhaul. Hearing other people‘s children crying to go home, not crying to stay, broke my heart.

And the 33-minute intermission I feel was not called for at all. It dragged on and on. And it astonished me how many people were leaving, and there were not as many people there as I remember in the years I was there. I don‘t know what they can do about this whole animal thing, but that‘s what kids want to see. I am scared to say if the circus keeps up like this, it will stop being an annual event. Jennifer De Franceschi Thunder Bay

• Re: Don‘t Support Animal Cruelty, Letter May 8

I attended this past week‘s Shrine Circus, so I thought I would let you know that there were no wild animals used during the circus.

There were only dogs and horses – both of which have been domesticated by man for centuries. All the dogs and horses were praised and patted throughout the performances, and I didn‘t get a sense that they were treated cruelly in any way.

The performers put on a great show, and there were only three acts in which animals were even used.

Cheryl Danielson Thunder Bay