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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 14, 1992                   TAG: 9202140448
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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CIRCUSES MAKE ANIMALS SUFFER

THE FEB. 2 news article on the circus says, "There's another side to the circus. The side that people rarely see . . . " You are right, but it's not the human side, it's the inhumane side.

Most people don't know that physical abuse is the standard when it comes to forcing animals to perform tricks nature never intended them to do. Whips, clubs, electric prods and other instruments of torture are used to keep the circus animals in line. Muzzles, too-tight collars and drugs are common, and many performing animals have had teeth and claws surgically removed.

When the animals are not performing, they are on the road, usually in tiny cages where food, clean water and bedding are limited.

When the circus decides an animal is no longer useful, it is likely that it will be sold to another circus, an experimentation laboratory, or a game farm where it can be hunted for sport.

There are a growing number of circuses, such as Cirque De Soleil, that do not feature animals. Anyone wishing to see the human side of the circus should see one of these shows rather than the ones that rely on animal suffering for our entertainment. KEVIN COOK ROANOKE

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