To the editor:
Yahoo — the circus is coming to town and once again all of us in Aroostook County and beyond will get to support animal cruelty. That’s right. Everyone who buys tickets to the circus is ensuring that the wild animals that are used in these acts will continue to be abused and held in extreme captivity.
I don’t understand. Why do area residents continue to support cruel activity in these circuses? I have no doubt that 99 percent of Mainers would be horrified if they saw the abuse of these animals that are broken in training for their entertainment. If they witnessed it with their own eyes they’d report it to law enforcement and would never think of encouraging its continuation, much less paying the abusers money to beat those beautiful animals into submission.
So let me ask you — why do you do it?
We know for a fact these trainers use abuse and cruelty to control these animals. Pictures of it are all over the internet describing in excruciating detail the abuse that is carried out. These circuses have been cited hundreds of times for these cruel practices, but they just merely pay the citations and carry on. The money they take in through ticket sales more than makes it profitable to keep it going.
You, the ticket buyers, are going to have to bring your better angels to the fore and refuse to support the circus as long as they insist on enslaving these wild animals for their acts.
Come on, people, are you against animal cruelty or not? Or is it acceptable as long as you and your children are entertained.
Insist on a circus that does not subjugate and abuse other species. We need to take a stand here in Maine, and the way to do that is to refuse to buy tickets. Better yet, take the money you’d normally pay for tickets and give it directly to a charity, preferably a local animal shelter or sanctuary.
Would you support a puppy mill simply because it gave some money to a good cause? Well, would you?
Clare Kierstead
Presque Isle
