Students petition circus' return to Breslin Center

Clarification:

SPAR provided university administrators with video footage of elephant abuse by Royal Hanneford employee Tim Frisco, however the video was not shot at MSU and was not taken in 2008.

However, SPAR did shoot video at MSU in 2008 showing elephants in distress.

SPAR needs to get a life. These people also think it is cruel for a wolf to eat a deer. Get over yourselves, they are animals in a circus. Parents bring their children to the circus to have fun, not deal with stupid college students protesting. Let the kids have fun like you did when your parents took you to the circus as a child.

gee, that’s a great argument jim.

exactly, the animals are in a circus…not their natural habitat.

perhaps parents can consider taking their children to less exploitative and violent events for “fun”

exactly what every 7 year old thinks megan. “ why can’t the circus be a less exploitative and violent event. get a life, let kids be kids, eat some cotton candy, ride an elephant, and have FUN!!! Remember what fun is?

Jim, it’s exactly the fact that kids don’t understand what’s going on that makes this circus so sick. They are indoctrinated at an early age into a society that condones animal abuse. It’s this sort of accepted violence that undermines empathy and could even turn children into sociopaths. Omitting disapproval is tantamount to approving cruelty. Using the suffering of innocents to induce happiness is a sick concept. I think Mahatma Ghandi said it best, though;

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” – Mahatma Gandhi

It’s the circus for crying out loud! It’s American as apple pie, baseball, and pro football players dogfighting.

These nuts are only doing this because no one wants to abuse their beaver.

Sounds like the the time I was walking to class after PETA fire bombed a research lab destroying valuable research.

Ok, to raise awareness of the issue but too often protesters don’t have a clue what happens in life. There are abuses in every aspect of society. The circus brings joy to kids.

Get off your high horses and let the show go on. There are more important issues to deal with.

850 against….how many thousands will buy tickets. why did they even waste their time going to talk to simon. i may buy a ticket or two in support of the circus even though i have no interest in going.

It is appropriate for a university to uphold higher moral standards than society at large, including the events it holds on campus, but SPAR needs to be more specific about what moral standards are being violated, and in what ways.

Until then, the standards of the simple-minded (“Get a life SPAR! The circus is fun!”) will prevail.

“SPAR provided university administrators with video footage of elephant abuse by Royal Hanneford employee Tim Frisco, however the video was not shot at MSU and was not taken in 2008.

However, SPAR did shoot video at MSU in 2008 showing elephants in distress”

lol classic SN fact checking ftw.

how about banning those guilty football players off of our football team —- they are entertainment…..and I wonder how many SPAR members are in our ASMSU board….. cause you know how ASMSU loves to spend the students money on crap and not tell us about it.

As long I eat roast chicken, I am not going to cry over a mouse or an elephant.

A few things to consider for those who are very concerned for the animals and having a circus on campus: Nature is NOT freedom from pain or suffering. Elephants in their natural environments may suffer from starvation, lack of water, disease, parasitism as well as predatory attacks. I would argue that animals that are under the care of humans should be taken very seriously. Any “wild” (i.e. non-domesticated animal) should be provided with freedom from some of the plights it would face in nature. Training animals is not a crime. I don’t allow my dog to chase or kill cats because it is in his nature. I train him to have behaviors that help his quality of life. I cannot speak for individual animals (NO person can), but if done appropriately I would feel comfortable stating that many non-domestic animals live better quality lives in captivity. If the circus or another animal group is caring for their animals I feel comfortable with their presence on campus. When done appropriately, exposure to non-domesticated animals can be a great educational experience.

All of these pro-circus arguments in the comments are moronic:

Because the circus is an American tradition, it’s okay to abuse and exploit animals.

Because the little children like seeing animals up close and in person, the circus should be able to continue to abuse and exploit animals.

So, even though what the circus does is wrong, they’ve been doing it for so long that you’re okay with it. And because kids show an interest in seeing real live animals, a circus is the best way to feed their interest is by showing them abused animals that live in some bizarre human created world where they wear clothes and do tricks.

Obviously none of you have children, or else you would show a little more concern for what your kids are seeing and growing up with. Apparently all you’re doing is defending your own childhood and parents’ choices. Well, now is the time to wake up and realize this is not how things should be, and if you want your kid’s to see elephants, take them to Africa… or buy them a Planet Earth DVD and let them learn about real elephants.

Maybe they will grow up with a little more sympathy for the suffering of things around them, rather than the will to dominate everything.

SPAR – if you don’t like the circus, then don’t go. How dare you though try and sensor my opportunities at a public university funded with my tax dollars.

The postings so far continue with the timeless debate of animal cruelty. Some things to consider: PETA or SPAR say that the animals aren’t in their natural habitat & are being abused. ?1: Was it cruel in the 1800’s before machinery for animals to plow fields? The animals weren’t in their natural habitat. If the fields weren’t plowed people wouldn’t have been able to eat. ?2: Is it more cruel for these circus animals to be in the circus or their natural habitat that is either a)being torn down by developers or b) poached for value on the market?
This debate will continue as long as earth is filled with humans and four legged animals, I don’t condone the mistreatment of animals ,yet I need to believe that we as humans are not that far gone in society that every circus ,every research lab & every zoo,etc treats animals cruelly.
One last ?: while student protesters are busy getting involved in this,how are their grades? How would they feel if they had small innocent children witnessing the possible negative protest that potentially can occur.
Has anyone considered the charity donation to charities in the area the circus brings in?
We live in a ever growing world,animals are losing their homes, some humans are losing their homes or struggling to keep them, and 850 students as of last count are making are making this a priority? What will be their priority next week.. ? I hope maybe the local homeless situation, or the many teenagers being threatened on the internet by sexual predators,these problems in society need to be fought just as hard for to fix as animal issues.

I’m sure my posting will put a few people into a feeling of defense & of course this is ok as I said before,this debate will never go away as long as animals & humans inhabit the same planet. The last question is: How to find even ground?

Have any of you SPAR losers actually asked us elephants if we’re suffering?

I thought the concept of ethical journalism sought to present all sides of a case, and yet, I have yet to hear a single quote from either The Hanneford Circus or the circus presenters. All I seem to hear is a lot of SPAR protesters complaining about isolated incidents of abuse, preventing the majority of the community from enjoying a great time while raising money for a great cause. Or did SPAR forget that the circus is a FUND RAISER for community children programs?!?

you guys care so much about animal cruelty, do u guys even know that today slaevery and HUman cruelty still exists too. Many parts of the world humans are treated like animals and kept in cages.
Spar and the 850 students need to prioritize thyr issues.

Thank you SPAR for raising awareness and attempting to turn the lightbulb on for some.

It’s always easiest to presume that activities one wants to engage in are “good”, “moral” and of course without legal violation.

That being said, what is good or moral about chaining animals 11 months minimum out of the year, transporting them in non-climate controlled trailers across the country, only freeing them when they are trained or ready to “perform” stupid human tricks?

What’s moral about supporting events that have United States Department of Agriculture Animal Welfare Violations a mile long because they can’t even meet minimal standards for animal care??

That’s not PETA, SPAR or any other “activist group”—that’s the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT enforcing those laws-FOIA it if you can’t believe it.

The “but nature is cruel argument” lacks purpose. It is a foundationless argument to make one’s self feel like they are indeed doing good. For those of you siding with this argument, why don’t you go outside and try to humanely kill every animal you see on campus. “Save” them all from getting diseased or starving to death.Or maybe just go scoop them all up and put them in solitart confinement in your dorm rooms. That way they’ll be “safe”.

Nature is cruel-but I can guarantee you that dying in nature, of natural causes despite the “harshness” is a better way to stop living. At least wildlife live suited to their natural instincts, free to do what they are biologically intended to, before dying. In the circus, there is nothing natural occuring. It is TORTURE. I’m betting that if the animals did have a choice, it would be to be shot dead, versus continuing to be carted around and beaten by humans (it’s all been caught on video folks~!).

I hope that while those of you attending with the primary purpose to “show your kids fun”, don’t end up getting infected with Tuberculosis (TB) while riding those abused and minimally vet treated elephants. Royal Hanneford elephants HAVE in the past, been treated for human strain TB. But maybe while up close you’ll be able to see their tears dripping or at least the stains, or even the abrasions on their legs. Maybe that will make the lightbulb go off?

Have fun at the show while telling yourself that the animals want to be there. Funny that they aren’t standing on their heads in or riding tricycles in the wild since they supposedly love acting like humans.

Get educated friends.

go away circus … no one likes you! If you want to show your children an elephant watch the Discovery Channel.

RH is just another bad American circus anyways. Cirque is coming in April, why not let your kids experience some real art and take them to that.

Have to agree with above. I don’t have any real moral objections to this circus, but watching animals in costumes get paraded around by guys with whips sounds depressing and really boring. Yeah, I’ll save my $ and wait for cirque soleil, which is friggin amazing

this message board is a circus… we should put all the fat chicks in cages with their elephant cousins

What the heck would sign a petition to ban a circus?

MSU should host 2 circuses out of spite.

SPAR sucks!!!