Circus elephants split town's opinion

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Owners of the circus say they are setting new standards in how to look after elephants being used for performance

by Anthony Bartram BBC News, Newark

The circus is in town and inside the huge blue and yellow star spangled big top is something Britain hasn't seen for 10 years - performing elephants.

Three of them in fact, taking commands in German from trainer Lars Holsher. They will back up for him, lift one leg, take a bow and walk out trunk-linked-to-tail.

Two Asian and an African elephant Sonja, Delhi and Vana Mana make their debut in ring tonight.

They have the local vicar's blessing, who performed a short service in the sawdust-covered ring this morning, but not the RSPCA's.

Their spokesman Rob Atkinson told the BBC: "It's a freezing cold February day for a start, these are tropical animals, and they don't like in groups of mixed species.

The public want to see performing animals as long as they can see they're happy and well looked after Chris Barltrop, Great British Circus

"For African elephants that's completely unnatural. They're not related, which all elephant herds are. They stay with each other for their whole lives.

"They spend and walk 12km to try and find food, they socialise, they can recognise the calls of 200 other animals, they have a concept of death and mourning and they don't have the chance to do any of that there."

Of the UK's 30 travelling circuses, most have dropped performing exotic animals from their line-ups. Welfare and ethical concerns have led many local councils not allowing them on their land.

The Great British Circus is the biggest, with big cats including lions and tigers, camels, horses and llamas lining up alongside the elephants, clowns, acrobats and the usual crop of human circus performers.

Spokesman Chris Barltrop says it has a clean bill of health from a government-appointed vet and nothing to hide.

"The public want to see performing animals as long as they can see they're happy and well looked after," he said.

'Sad sight'

"And what we're doing with this group of elephants is setting an example of how animals can be looked after in this context."

There were mixed views from people in Newark, some thinking it was sad people still want to see wild animals performing in the ring, and unnatural that they should be doing tricks.

Others thought there was nothing wrong with circus animals so long as they were well looked after.

The Great British Circus hopes having the elephants on the bill will be a big draw. Opponents like the RSPCA say it's a body blow to their campaign to get this type of act off the bill.

The charity renewed its call on the Government today to ban wild animals from being allowed to perform in the UK.

The circus meanwhile, says it's happy to jump through hoops to convince the authorities and the paying public their animals are well looked after.

A test of that will come over the next fortnight here in Newark with how many tickets they sell.