The owner-manager of a travelling circus says he thinks his operation has been targeted in the Hunter, after three vehicles were seriously damaged by vandals in the past fortnight.
Ringmaster Shane Lennon told the Newcastle Herald his business had five cars emblazoned with promotional details about Hudsons Circus that could be parked near busy roads in each town the show visited.
He said three of the five vehicles had been vandalised in the Hunter in the past two weeks - with the most recent case taking place at Port Stephens on Tuesday.
Two of the cars were tipped onto their sides, which smashed windscreens, windows and mirrors at Maitland and Medowie, while a rock was used to break the windows of a car parked near the big top at Raymond Terrace, with vandals stealing the vehicle's stereo.
The circus has been subject to vandalism in the past, but Mr Lennon said this was the most extreme case he had experienced.
And while the motive behind previous acts of vandalism had been clear - often involving messages scrawled on promotional signs - there was no obvious reason as to why the cars were being trashed in this instance.
"From time to time you get a little bit of vandalism," he said. "But when it's ongoing it feels like somebody is targeting us."
Mr Lennon said he was aware his circus' use of animals as part of the show did not align with some people's beliefs that animals should not be used as entertainment.
"We realise there are probably a lot of people out there that don't share our view of animals and the way we use them for entertainment," he said.
"We are bound by a strict code of practice and laws. [The animals] are in public view 23 hours a day, so there's nothing we could do to them to be nasty in any remote way - people would see it.
"I'm happy that people have got their own point of view but it's not very nice if that was the case - that somebody didn't like us and decided to vandalise our equipment just to kind of get back at us for their own views."
According to the circus' website, Arabian camels, Asian water buffalo, llamas and Welsh mountain ponies are part of the show. The website has a section where it outlines its focus on the welfare of the animals, including employing trainers and handlers who have worked in "senior roles in many of Australia's largest zoos".
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