Activism

A few months ago, in March, I went downtown to watch Ringling Circus. I had noticed a group of people holding signs. They had many different sayings written on them in reference to the circus' animals and where they were to be kept after the circus went out of business. 

This wasn't an overwhelming protest. There were three or four people standing on street corners almost silently holding their signs. They didn't block cars from entering the parking lot or scream at the families walking into the arena. They were there to share their message and they wanted nothing more than that.

Their message came across for me. I still think about it now, months after the fact. It resonates with me how different humans and animals are and what right we had to take advantage of that.
 I spent the entirety of the show thinking about how these animals were being treated. When the tigers would disobey the tamer, I would think "do they not respect him because he abuses them?". I thought about the exotic animals that were stuck in cages traveling the country rather than roaming free halfway across the world. I thought of the horses and how much happier they would be in a pasture. The protesters affected how I saw the entire show. Rather than leaving with joy and excitement, I felt guilty for giving my money to such a toxic environment for these animals.

I believe in a general sense of animals rights. I supported animals being treated correctly, but allowed someone else to figure out what needed to be done and how that should be achieved. I now want to be better informed on these issues. I want to be a bigger part of the world and understand what is happening around me.

I have researched the state of zoos around the world and become better informed about the issues surrounding wild animals in captivity. It matters to me how they are being treated and what kind of environment they are being placed in. These animals have dealt with abuse and neglect for decades for the purpose of human entertainment and only now are they being granted freedom.