Not only do animals in circuses often lead a torturous existence, they can also pose a danger to the public. Just last year, the two female elephants, who are now retiring, showed with an escape in Neuwied (Kenya) and a dangerous accident in the manege (Mala) what an enormous safety risk elephants pose in circuses. calls for a nationwide ban on keeping wild animals in circuses. The keeping of elephants, hippos or tigers in the circus is highly problematic from an animal welfare point of view, since a mobile company cannot take the needs of the animals into account: They suffer from frequent changes of location, small cages, a lack of opportunities to retreat, a lack of social structures, questionable training methods and the high-stress performances. Most of the time, the animals live in transport vehicles that are far too narrow, in which there is usually hardly any space for climbing, digging, running, bathing or swimming.
