Vocabulary and Animal Rights: Circus Ban & Protests
Vocabulary
- Cruel: Wicked, liking to hurt people.
- Autobiography: A story about a person’s own life.
- Enemy: Someone who fights against you.
- Enemy territory: An area of land controlled by soldiers.
- Fractured: Cracked.
- Divorced: Ended their marriage.
- Remarried: Got married again.
- Attended: To be present at an event or activity.
- Caned: Canned food has been preserved in a metal container without air.
- Performed: To complete an action or activity.
- Harsher: Harsh conditions, places, or weather are unpleasant and difficult to live in.
- Run out of: To move with haste.
- Skull: The bones of the head.
- Crawl out of: To move along the ground on your hands and knees.
- Be good at: Ser bo amb alguna cosa
- Manage to: Aconseguir
- Whenever: (adv) Any time.
- To bind (v): To tie something.
- Bundle (n): Group of things tied together.
- Tape (n): A long thin plastic band.
- Fairly: (adv) To some degree but not completely.
- Altogether: (adv) Including everything or everyone.
- To point out (v): To show a certain thing.
- To make sure (v): To be certain or sure.
- Lousy: (adj) Very bad.
- To be thrashed (v): To get something on someone.
Call for Wild Animals Circus Ban
Two leading animal welfare charities are calling for the Government to ban the use of wild animals in circuses.
The RSPCA and Born Free Foundation want the ban included in the Animal Welfare Bill, which is currently being discussed in Parliament.
Retirement with Dignity
The organizations say seven tigers, five lions, an Asian elephant, an American black bear, eight camels, and three zebras are among the animals still kept in three UK circuses. They say some wild animals kept by circuses barely have room to turn around in their cages.
The RSPCA adds that the animals’ lack of privacy and the high noise levels are also completely against what they would experience in the wild.
The Animal Welfare Bill, which was debated in the Commons last week, includes harsher fines of up to 20,000 and jail terms of up to 51 weeks for animal cruelty.
One animal rights campaigner told BBC News, ‘We feel that wild animals kept in British circuses should be cared for in decent retirement homes and no longer asked to perform stupid tricks for the rest of their lives’.
Protest over Big Top Animal Acts
Campaigners calling for an end to the use of animals in circus shows have staged a demonstration in north London.
The Captive Animals Protection Society (CAPS) wants the public to boycott Zippo’s Circus during its week-long stint at Brent Cross Shopping Centre.
Horses, dogs, and birds feature in acts, making Zippo’s one of seven circuses in the UK to still use animals, according to a society spokesman.
A spokesman from Zippo’s Circus said he did not wish to comment.
CAPS claims that life on the road, confinement, and performances cause the creatures physical and mental problems.
One of the campaigners said, ‘In the 21st century, we should no longer be making animals perform tricks for entertainment. There are many excellent all-human circuses where the public can have family entertainment that does not rely on the outdated practice of using animals’.