Circuses Are No Fun for Animals!

One minute to the bell when—slap!—a stack of pink permission slips lands on your desk. Your teacher’s taking you to—oh, no!—the circus???!!! Not if you have anything to say about it!

Before you craft some crazy plan to pull the fire alarm on field-trip day or throw your body in front of a giant yellow school bus, there’s a less death-defying (and sure-fire) way to put the brakes on big-top outings forever.

Circuses are no fun for animals—especially elephants! Elephants in circuses are beaten, gouged with bullhooks, kept in filthy, cramped trailers and train cars, and dragged around the country while being forced to perform tricks and stunts that they would never do in the wild. They are torn away from their families and deprived of all that is natural to them—all to line the pockets of the circus’s owners.

What can you do to help? Easy—boycott circuses! Spread the word and tell everyone you know why they should never go to a circus that has animal performers. If your school is planning a field trip to the circus, explain to your teacher that there’s nothing educational or entertaining about forcing animals to perform stupid tricks through violence and intimidation. Let them know that you’ve done your homework and wow them with this info: At least 17 U.S. cities have banned circuses with animal acts—other countries like Costa Rica and Sweden have, too.

Petitions are a great way to get things done! Download the “Heck, No—We Won’t Go” petition (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader; download Adobe Acrobat Reader here), photocopy it, and pass it around school to collect signatures. Then give it to your teacher or principal.

Take it a step further and let you voice be heard! Round up your friends and speak as a group at your school board’s next meeting. Call your local board of education and ask to be added to the agenda of the next school board meeting. Be sure to ask how much time you will be allotted to speak so that you can prepare your speech ahead of time and ensure that you’ll be able to make your most important points within that time frame. Contact PETA for free circus education packs to pass around.

Get yourself some cool elephant stickers to share with your friends and a copy of PETA's "An Elephant's Life" comic for some behind-the-scenes info on what life is really like for elephants in the circus. Check it out and download it here. Please let your teacher know that he or she can visit TeachKind.org for free humane education resources, including alternatives to circus field trips.

Let us know about your progress and what we can do to help! E-mail us at Grrrr!@peta.org.