Letter: Circus tragedy shows it’s time to end animal acts

Tuesday, May 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Circus advocates and promoters always attempt to reassure circus-goers by touting their "experienced" and professional trainers. According to Steve Kendall of the Animal Care Association, Franzen had more than 23 years of experience and "knew the risks" of working with exotic animals. Nevertheless, he was not able to prevent the attack in the ring from happening or could save his own life. If such "experienced" trainers cannot protect themselves from death and injury, how can they protect the public?

There were victims that night besides Wayne Franzen. Perhaps he was prepared to take the risks he took. None of the 200 children in the audience, however, had the choice of not being traumatized for life by what they saw. The children who were on the elephant Janet's back when she rampaged in Palm Bay, Fla., (February 1992), the hundreds who witnessed a tiger being burned while jumping through a flaming hoop (Aug. 4, 1994), the hundreds of others who saw the elephant, Tyke, kill her trainer in Honolulu (Aug. 20, 1994) and the dozens of children terrorized when two elephants rampaged out of a circus tent in Queens, N.Y., (July 10, 1995) and you will see who the true victims of this so-called "family entertainment" are.

The day will soon come when the public will no longer patronize circuses which keep live animals in terrible conditions and terrorize them, causing them, in turn, to terrorize the audience. Circuses would be better served by phasing out the use of live animals, a move that would promote both animal welfare and public safety.

Linda Faso