I want to protest but I cannot seem to find any group that organises such things. I did find the following although old and I have sent the letter they suggested:
What's the difference between a well-loved and well-cared for animal performing in a circus and a well-loved and well-cared for pet performing tricks for the amusement of his master and his master's friends?
I've seen the Knie family training their horses, and the bond between the people and their animals is something which could never be achieved with whips and cruelty.
Is your objection to the Knie circus' use of animals based on general principles, or is there a specific practice with which you have a problem?
Of course you didn't. They're performing in front of children, so you won't see any whipping or kicking. I have no experience with KNIE per se, but circuses in general are known for cruel training methods, something that isn't open to the public.
I'm under pressure to take my son to see the Knie Circus this year. I've not been for almost 10 years, having visited it previously two years on the trot.
I have to be honest and say I am not a big fan of seeing animals performing in circuses or anywhere for that matter. It's all very clever how they train them to take part in an act but it just isn't for me - I'd rather see them skipping about (or lumbering if it's an elephant) in the wild.
I'm sure the circus is regulated and monitored by authorities in Switzerland and there aren't any major acts of cruelty. The article that the OP posted at the top of the thread was pretty shocking, though - causing an elephant to bleed because it wouldn't learn the act.
You could argue that elephants, like dogs and horses, are easy to domesticate (they use elephants to work in India, don't they?) but even so, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth to see them prancing about doing weird unnatural movements for the delight of an audience.
AFAIK, in CH, animal rights are pretty low down on the list of priorities.
As I recall, it was only recently that animal rights were introduced, and a couple of years after this, there was a motion tabled to remove or reduce the rights - unless my memory is bad.
The point of all this, is that it comes as little surprise to me that you've had difficulty finding any group to complain with/join as the concept of animal rights is in CH a pretty recent development.
I have never been to a circus for this exact reason being a big animal lover and against all animal cruelty!! However, we are talking about the Knie in Switzerland..not a travellling circus in E.europe or N.America. I felt the same way about the Knie until I became better eduated on the matter. A family member of mine worked with the Knie for years and assured me there was no animal cruelty what so ever and she lived and travelled with them an is also a big animal lover and would have never stayed so long if they had abused or treated the animals poorly.. The care and respect the Knie family has for their animals is #1 priority for them they consider the animals part of there family not solely used for entertinment!! Is it then cruel that the younger generation of the Knie clan preform for entertainment too? I think not!! so this year I might actually go.
Circuses are rubbish these days with no animals in them, the lions and tigers and elephants where my favorite bit when I was a kid, now we just have the stupid clowns and the trapeze artists, side show, WE WANT LIONS!
It's not as if it's actual cruelty, not the hot steel plates on the dancing bear’s feet, just a trained lion and a bit of jumping through hoops.
I know it is better to see these animals in conservation conscious zoos, or in the wild, but regulation is the key, not banning, if we ban the animal entertainment kids wont get the full Circus experience, and the animals (due to pre-existing heavy European regulation) are well looked after and treated as pets by the owners and know no different.