Posted on 01/09/2003 7:49:43 PM PST by nwrep
LONDON (Reuters) - Forget the tigers, the elephants and the dancing bears. Cirque du Soleil will never travel the world with performing animals.
"We don't agree with the way the animals are dressed to do their tricks. We prefer to give jobs to human beings," said Pierre Parisien from the renowned Quebec troupe that has inspired a circus renaissance around the globe.
"They are animals, not performers. They should be in the jungle," the artistic director of the troupe's "Saltimbanco" show told Reuters after its London opening this week.
"We do not agree with the way they are trained and I'm not sure the place of an elephant or a tiger is to stand in a cage half of its life and perform all around the world," he said. "We will never have animals in our shows."
Cirque du Soleil was founded in 1984 by Quebecois accordion player and fire-eater Guy Laliberte as a mix of circus acts and street entertainment.
Over the past two decades, it has developed into a giant entertainment empire and given circus a new lease of life.
Cirque du Soleil now has 2,400 employees and 500 artists from more than 40 countries. Its shows have been seen in 130 cities by close to 33 million spectators.
It has permanent theaters at Walt Disney World in Florida and at two Las Vegas casinos. It is currently staging eight shows on two continents. Every weekend, 60,000 people will be watching a Cirque du Soleil show somewhere in the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
Yeah, I know, animals have no choice in the matter, people do, blah, blah, blah. If the animals are treated humanely and well fed, then I'd say they're getting a better deal out in the wild where they face the vagaries of being prey or dying of starvation.
I want my job back! NOW!
Here are some pics of ligers. For mroe pics of other exotic cats (eg Leopons, pumards, caravals, jaglions etc follow the link at the bottom of the post, and then scroll down).
1. The chimp's right thumb blocks view through sights.
2. His ight hand on slide.
3. He has a poor grip with left hand, and that's assuming the chimp is a lefty.
4. The pistol is too large for the chimp. I usually only allow chimps to use .22 caliber pistols.
5. The chimp should have ear protection for sound of firing and Chuck Heston yelling "Get your hands off my gun you damn dirty ape."
1. The right to be extinct.
2. The right to be my dinner.
Me either, I've seen Cirque du Soleil. I was pointing out that the argument could be reduced to animals doing tricks vs. people doing tricks. To me it's not unlike the people who would save a few fish while ruining the lives of scores of farmers (as in the Klamath River fiasco). I have a great appreciation for animals, and I admire the deer that pass through my yard without having the urge to kill them, but let's not elevate them to a status greater than ourselves.
It seems to me it's MORE ethical to coax animals to do tricks, while treating them humanely, than it is to kill and eat them. So, unless each and every PETA member is a strict vegetarian, they aren't being terribly consistent. I think they just like to hear themselves beat their chests every now and again. Kind of like Al Gore or Bill Clinton. Some people just don't feel important unless they can feel superior to someone, somewhere.
An embarassment.
I must admit that when I saw (and heard) "Allegria" I was wowed. But that was the high-water mark.
So disappointed with the last one I saw that I wrote the producers a complaint. I'll never attend another.
--Boris
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.