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.

“Kids these days sometimes know more about dinosaurs than they do about tigers and monkeys- because they watch documentaries and read books about them,” said Katie Davies, one of the campaign organizers. “Kids don’t need animal circuses or zoos to understand how beautiful animals are, nor do they need to see animals whipped to ride bicycles or starved so that a morsel of meat makes them jump through burning hoops, or to see them trapped in too-small enclosures. This is all about raising awareness of what is morally right.”

The organizers 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 three weeks while the online event itself caught the interest of 13,000 people. The organizing group, combining students, lawyers, journalists and others, has been on TV, and has encouraged celebrities to join them in spreading the message condemning animal circuses. At the rally, leaflets were given to circus attendees explaining that animals have their own rights, are not human property, 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.

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.

David Mizandari, Director of biletebi.ge, the agency contracted by Tbilisi Circus to sell its tickets, responded to the requests of campaign leaders that the company stop selling tickets to the animal circus: “We have contractual responsibilities towards our business partners, including the circus, and can make no changes until the expiration of the current contract. We will certainly consider this issue and take the view of society into account, and will hold negotiations with circus management, as well as current and future organizers of such shows. We think it is of paramount importance to explore international best-practice and apply it to make relevant changes at the legislative level, and not to be limited only to stopping ticket sales.”

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

Photo by Irma Chubinidze