… I … oppose allowing any circus to come to Worcester that includes exotic animal acts.

… for the past 20 plus years I have read reviews and … The research consistently bears out the facts that these animals [elephants, chimps, tigers, lions] are more intelligent than we imagined. Surprisngly, in the case of elephants, we learn that they live in a community, care for each other and even grieve when one of them dies. How horrible to take them from that community and put them in a lonely, stressful environment where they are forced, sometimes cruelly, to perform unnatural acts for our entertainment.

The time has long past when the only glimpse people had of these wonderful exotic creations was when the circus came to town. Now elephants can be seen in many humane zoos and sanctuaries where we can appreciate their beauty in an environment as close to normal as we can provide.

The circus – minus exotic animals – will always have a place in providing entertainment. Who hasn’t laughed at the clowns and been awed by the acrobats and high wire artist? But that should be their total focus. There are circuses that have done this and have been eminently successful.

This is a chance for Worcester to take a stand, lead by example and hope in doing so that other communities will follow and eventually compel all circuses to exclude exotic animal acts from their performances.