Georgians Countrywide Protest Animal Circuses
On May 4, despite heavy rain, the idea of banning animal circuses in Georgia brought dozens of individuals to Heroes' Square, Tbilisi, to rally on the opening day of the Yuri Nikulin animal circus visiting Tbilisi from Moscow, Russia. Their message: Circus Without Animals (ცირკი ცხოველების გარეშე), a campaign highlighting the cruel and abusive methods used to train the animal "performers" in such circuses worldwide.
People of all ages, even first-graders and a group of Georgian Girl Scouts, were among the protestors, holding banners and shouting slogans warning arriving circus attendees about the suffering of the animals they were about to see. Some of the children spoke to the crowd of their past visits to animal circuses, of seeing tigers and other animals whipped during performances, and of how upset and angry it had made them feel. "We don't need animal circuses for fun - let's see human acrobats instead!" they said.
Photo by Irma Chubinidze
The organizers of the rally had the importance of raising public awareness of circus animal cruelty at the forefront of their campaign prior to the rally. An initial petition against animal circuses got 10,000 signatures in two weeks while the online event itself caught the interest of 13,000 people. The organizing group, combining students, lawyers, journalists, and others, have been on TV, and have encouraged celebrities to join them in spreading the message condeming animal circuses. At the event, leaflets were given to circus attendees explaining that animals have their own rights, do not belong to humans and that their torture must not be tolerated.
A petition was also available for signing during the rally, which is to push for legislative changes to ban animal circuses from the territory of Georgia. Despite the bad-weather turnout, it was signed by more than 500 Georgian citizens in just two hours, taking it far beyond the 300 signatures needed to get the campaign noticed by MPs. The ultimate goal is to follow the example of others, among them Colombia, Croatia, Costa Rica, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Scotland, Singapore, Israel, Finland, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Germany, Croatia, Estonia, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, India, Peru, and, most recently, the capital of Ingushetia.
Photo by Nini Bilikhodze
One of the organizers of the campaign, Lika Batsikadze, explained that "the civilized world is well-aware of the significance of banning animal circuses, and more than 30 countries have applied relevant measures. Georgia should certainly be included on that list and implement progressive, ethical approaches to animals." She added that a request had already been sent to the Mayor of Tbilisi for consideration and that the rally is just the beginning of the fight for the freedom of animals used in entertainment in Georgia.
Tbilisi was not the only city protesting animal circuses on May 4, as youth also came out in support of the campaign in two other major Georgian cities, in Kutaisi and in Zugdidi- where a traveling animal circus is currently pitched.
The campaign is to continue and to grow, with animal-lovers and protesters saying they will not stop until Georgia bans animal circuses.
By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya
Main photo by Katorine Verkhviashvili.
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