I realize that you could call me a hypocrite right now since we did take Eva to the circus a couple of months ago and she LOVED it. I had never been to the circus before because I knew that their treatment of the animals was most likely questionable but this time we were offered free tickets so I thought “why not”? When we arrived I immediately spotted the protesters handing out fact sheets on the cruel treatment of the animals. I declined to take one because I did not want to know what I already feared in my heart and I wanted us to be able to enjoy ourselves. I know that sounds incredibly selfish and it was but I did vow to investigate before I ever went to another circus and that is what I want to share with you.
Here are some facts about Barnum and Baily from investigations conducted by PETA.
http://www.circuses.com/pdfs/RinglingHiddenTruthFSetc.pdf
http://www.circuses.com/pdfs/RinglingFactsheet.pdf
http://www.circuses.com/pdfs/RinglingElephantBreedingFS.pdf
The statement that affected me the most was this…
“Elephants in circuses are bought and sold,
separated from companions, confined, chained
and forced to stand for hours, and frequently
moved about in small compartments on trains or
trucks. They are required to perform behaviors
never seen in nature. … In order to keep elephant
behavior under tight control in the close proximity,
‘hands-on’ conditions of circuses, it is necessary
for a handler to establish and maintain supremacy.
Domination of such a large animal must
unavoidably involve an element of cruelty, often
including the liberal use of an ankus—a bullhook
euphemistically termed ‘guide’ by those in the
business, a whip, or an electric prod. … The totally
unnatural existence of captive elephants in a
circus, which includes significant physical and
emotional suffering, is a travesty. To allow this
practice to continue is unjustified and unethical.”
What also sealed the deal for me is that the elephants are kept chained up, barely able to move, for an average of 26 hours at a time up to 100 hours while traveling between cities. I mean at least when you go to a reputable zoo they attempt to replicate the animals’ natural habitats, give them room to exercise and good veterinary care. So there it is, do with it what you will.
Here is a list animal free circuses for your consideration.
Here is a wonderful article my mom sent me. It’s more inspiring then it is helpful but we all need a little inspiration in our lives too. I can really identify with this couple not wanting to file for bankruptcy.
http://kanyelicio.us/http://www.modernmommyblog.com
Well we are dealing with a small setback this month. I was tempted to start this post talking about how we have failed this month but I couldn’t let myself admit defeat. The reason is if I do that then I will just give up all together. No, we are not defeated we are just having a small setback and we need to dust ourselves off and start right back up again.
What happened is I went back to school along with the fact that there is some pretty heavy stuff going on in my family right now and it’s taking some time to adjust. I just haven’t been able to get it together enough to do my regular grocery shopping, so our fridge looks like a bunch of bachelors live here. We’ve been eating out like crazy. I swore I was gonna go grocery shopping today but that didn’t work out either so I’m gonna try again and go tomorrow. Starting with getting a good nights sleep tonight so I can wake up early, take a shower and get my butt out of the house.
The school schedule has been rough because I go Monday and Tuesday night, and then my husband goes Wednesday night. So it’s definitely taking some getting used to as far as cooking dinner and that sort of thing. Going to school after you have kids is a whole new experience. It’s certainly interesting trying to do homework when a two year old is demanding your constant attention.
So, yes, we have spent extra money on eating out this month and there was the little incident yesterday where my car was towed and I had to pay $135 to get it out. Yep, we all live and learn right?
However, even though we didn’t follow our budget exactly we have still kept up with all our other budget cuts and we have not bought anything on credit. That is major. I am disappointed that we were not able to pay as much as we wanted towards are debt this month but I am so proud that we have gone the entire 6 months without charging anything to a credit card. That alone is amazing and we plan to keep it that way.
I mean seriously. Seriously? You just can’t help bashing each other to the Media? You’ve both said yourselves that you don’t want your children reading this stuff one day. But yet, you just continue on.
What is it with people and there frickin’ selfishness!!! I’m so mad right now I could scream.
I just wish I could somehow make them read this but I know they probably wouldn’t care anyway. Just get over yourselves already. It’s not about YOU! It’s about your children.
Sorry, I really can’t believe I’m talking about this one here, but after seeing the latest two headlines I just had to vent.
Thanks for listening.
http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=430029
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20302916,00.html
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20300421,00.html
