Get up, stand up
Protesters enrich democracy
Windsor Star
Published: Thursday, July 10, 2008

Whether you believe circus animals are tortured victims or coddled performers, you can't help but admire the spirit of the protesters who braved apathy, the elements and "the odd insult" outside Windsor Arena Tuesday as hundreds of happy families filed in for the annual Shrine Circus.

By forcing people to confront the morality of keeping majestic elephants in captivity and making them do tricks for human amusement, the protesters, who numbered only about a dozen in all, opened themselves up to abuse and ridicule. People don't like to think about such things on their way into the circus any more than they want to think about the morality of killing animals when they walk into a steak house or shoe store. It can be quite the buzz killer.
"You get catcalls. You get people telling you to get a life. But since when is standing up for something you believe in not having a life?" said Dan MacDonald, spokesman for the Windsor Animal Action Group. "We just want to raise awareness that animals in the circus are not having fun."

Terry McKay, chairman of the circus, which raises thousands of dollars for the Shriners hospital in Montreal, disputed the protesters' claims that elephants are tethered and motivated by fear, insisting they were treated more like "house pets" and that the circus passed daily inspections conducted by the humane society.

The hundreds of Windsor residents who breezed by the gaggle of protesters, ignoring them or chastising them, either felt the same way or chose not to bother themselves with uncomfortable thoughts about the ethics of animal circus acts. MacDonald said their apathy was "disappointing a little bit" but remained optimistic such protests would ultimately make a difference.

A thousand years from now, people might well regard us as barbaric for killing sentient beings for meat and clothing and for enslaving them in zoos and circuses for our own entertainment. Until then, though, these protesters are a minority in a meat-eating, leather-wearing world where everybody loves a circus. They deserve credit for taking an unpopular stand and forcing us to confront uncomfortable questions.

** Write a letter of thanks to the Windsor Star at: letters@thestar.canwest.com