It is with sadness that I read of the closure of the Barnum & Bailey/Ringling Bros Circus (Animal rights campaigners celebrate closure of 146-year-old US circus, 16 January). It was a phenomenon that entertained and delighted America for nearly 150 years, travelling across the states by railroad even in the darkest of times, delighting small towns and cities in sawdust rings under acres of canvas. Traditional circus – not the Vegas-style – still continues to thrill audiences young and old. In Switzerland, Circus Knie still sells out every year in a beautiful big top and, yes, it has tigers, zebras, elephants, giraffes and dozens of horses, all kept under strict conditions. They are all beautiful animals in perfect health, leading an active life. We still have zoos, containing lethargic animals in captivity. Horse racing is a huge global sport that only breeds thoroughbreds, largely in stable or in horse-box, purely to uphold a gambling industry. At Circus Knie they scrub the giraffes each morning from a stepladder. In the 70s, I remember going to see Gerry Cottle’s elephants being walked to the Swanage beach where they enjoyed an hour in the sea.
Peter Avery
London
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