While animals may seem like part of the magic of a good circus act, they are all too often the horrific part of the show. Mistreated, abused, and forced to live in tiny cages, the majority of circus animals are living the furthest thing from a dream life.
Lately, so much has come out about the mistreatment of circus animals, and yet many people still can’t shake the idea that animals are a necessary component of a good show.
Circus Roncalli has the perfect remedy to the problem – they are using holograms instead of live animals and it’s every bit as magical, without the cruelty.
Circus Roncalli admits that for many years they were a part of the problem. After all, they’ve been incorporating animals into their shows since 1976.
They decided it was time to take a stand against animal cruelty and remove real flesh and blood from their shows in exchange for mystical holograms.
Roncalli has created 3D holographic images from projectors that can fill an arena that measures 105 feet (32 meters) wide and 16 feet (5 meters) deep. The holograms offer 360 degree visibility for every member of the audience.
To bring their vision to life, Roncalli partnered with Bluebox and Optoma, using 11 ZU850 laser projectors that were designed to produce spectacular holographic images.
“We have been using Optoma projectors for 6 years and have consistently had a very positive experience in price, performance, and reliability. We needed a high contrast projector with great colors for the 3D effect and the ZU850’s 2,000,000:1 contrast is perfect for this project,” commented Birger Wunderlich from Bluebox.
Their decision to invite these incredible holograms into their show comes after so much attention has been thrust towards the mistreatment of animals around the world.
Animals kept in captivity for the purpose of entertainment typically live terrible lives. They often become depressed and display unnatural behaviors like pacing and swaying.
Many activist groups have captured behind the scenes footage showing circus animals being beaten, starved, and forced to live in unsanitary conditions.
Plus, they are frequently transported in swelteringly hot, compact, and filthy trucks. This causes a great deal of stress to the animals.
Need proof? A circus elephant known as Heather recently died from heat exhaustion while being transported in a tractor trailer.
In the UK, they are trying to push a ban on traveling circuses so that they cannot use wild animals in their shows starting in 2020.
Circus Roncalli offers a chance to enjoy the spectacular nature of a circus show without contributing to the cruelty of animals. See clips from the breathtaking production below:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=q3KbgGJux4E%3Ffeature%3Doembed
9 Reasons Animals Shouldn’t Be Forced To Perform In Circuses:
1. Tigers have a natural fear of fire, and yet they are often forced to jump through hoops of fire. Sadly, many tigers have been burned while doing so.
2. Forget positive reinforcement training. For the most part, trainers use all kinds of cruel measures to make animals behave, including whips, electric prods, bullhooks, muzzles, chains, and tight collars.
3. Since 2000, 35 elephants have tried to make a run for their life and escape the circus, bolting into public streets, crashing through buildings, attacking pedestrians on the streets, as well as injuring and even killing their handlers.
4. Every major circus that uses animals as part of their show has been cited in violation of maintaining the minimal standards of care established by the United States Animal Welfare (AWA).
5. An estimated 96% of a circus animal’s life is spent trapped in cages or chains.
6. Circus animals spend up to 11 months a year on the road – living in cramped quarters with no climate control where they are forced to eat, sleep, and defecate in the same space.
7. Sadly, the leading causes of death for captive elephants are foot infections and arthritis – which are largely caused by standing on hard surfaces the majority of the day and night.
8. When circus animals do get some downtime, it’s not spent hanging out in big green pastures. Instead, they are usually forced to reside in tiny traveling crates. The result? Psychological issues and unnaturally erratic behaviors like swaying and pacing.
9. It’s dangerous for humans too – since 1990, there have been 123 documented instances of large captive cats attacking humans, 13 of which were fatal. And that’s just in the US!