"Get a job" and "go home," are some of the common comments a group of protestors get while standing outside of Missoula's Shrine Circus. They say they respond by just smiling.

Signs reading "tortured for your entertainment," and "cruelty isn't entertainment" lined the walkway into the Adams center, as protestors they urged the public to stop going to a circus that uses animals.

"The training process is very cruel," said one protester, who said that baby elephants had to be taken away from their mothers for training. "They're tied and restrained and forced into positions that are very unnatural."

Inside the circus, children and adults alike viewed multiple animal events: there were three elephants, a llama, a camel, a baby alligator, and tigers galore, not to mention a bunch of poodles. If the animals were mistreated, it wasn't obvious to this author. In fact, the animals appeared to be better treated than the 2013 Shrine Circus during which a tiger got in trouble for tearing a floor mat during the event and some elephants appeared to have callouses from a training tool.

Apparently, there were more than a few would-be animal rights protestors in the audience pretending to enjoy the show. The protestors said that on top of a lot of negative comments, "we get a few people that say, 'sorry, I gotta go in with my kids but I support you.'"

 

 

 

 

 

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