When the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus announced in March that they would retire all of their performing elephants by 2018, it came as a both a blow and potentially a warning bell for Colleen Pages.
The 25-year-old has been around animals all her life, but has consistently worked with elephants for the past 10 years as an animal presenter with Circus Pages, a traveling circus founded by her grandparents, Jose and Sabina Pages, 25 years ago. Jose and Sabina were circus performers in Cuba before immigrating to the United States.
‘If they are not going to have elephants because society thinks they shouldn’t be performing, there really isn’t a whole lot of hope for the other people out there,? said Colleen. ‘They are the greatest show on Earth, the biggest money-making market. I may be biased as a circus performer, but you go to the circus to see elephants and lions and tigers.?
Ringling Bros. representatives cited changes in legislation in various cities regulating use and treatment of animals as well as a ‘mood shift? in consumers, with many people ‘uncomfortable? with elephants touring and performing as the reasons for discontinuing elephant acts.
The Circus Pages remains a popular attraction at the Oakland County Fair, where they performed last month with elephants, as well as lions, tigers, camels and more as part of fair admission and which they have done for the past nine years.
‘They have a very good quality show to hold people’s attention,? said LC Scramlin, Oakland County Fair general manager. ‘We realize there is an element out there that doesn’t like animal shows, but our entire fair is made up of animals. When I see people who handle livestock well, I appreciate them. When I see people who handle circus animals well, I appreciate that. I’ve never seen anything abusive.?
Colleen’s parents operate the business now, which currently tours with two female African elephants, Daisy and Bambi, as well as six lions, two white tigers, four camels, four horses, six ponies, and five dogs.
‘I’m working really hard to get zebras, but my Dad won’t let me buy them,? said Colleen. ‘They are more of a hot-blooded animal, and he doesn’t know if they would work out with the current animals we have, he’s not sure if they would get along.?
Jose and Sabina Pages purchased their two African elephants from Ringling Brothers when the elephants were 5-years-old. They are now 30-years-old. Colleen explains that at the time, Ringling was going to Asian elephants. The Circus Pages? lions and tigers, which range in age from 5 to 10-years-old, were obtained through the years from independent licensed breeders that supply them to zoos and circuses.
‘I don’t know where they get stock from,? she said. ‘They are cracking down on the laws so much now, but there was a time when you could buy a tiger advertised in the newspaper in Texas.?
The Circus Pages travel about six months out of the year, Pages said, alternating two months of working with two month breaks at their 60-acre Florida compound. At home, each of the animal species have their own barn and wash facility. There are pools for the elephants and tigers.
On the road, however, accommodations are a different story.
Circus Pages uses four semi-truck trailers, all equipped with heating and air conditioning, to transport the animals. The elephants share a 60-foot enclosed trailer. The large cats all share a 60-foot trailer as well, each separated in cages. The camels share a trailer, as do the horses and ponies.
The circus travels at night, with about four hours between stops, staying in a town for a week or 10 days. The trucks do not advertise what cargo they carry and Colleen said she doesn’t like to show the animals while traveling.
‘Traveling is stressful for everyone,? admits Colleen. ‘I don’t think anyone likes that and I am pretty sure the animals don’t like it. Traveling is the most stressful part of their day.?
That kind of stress can be harmful, said Dr. Stephanie Allard, director of animal welfare for the Detroit Zoo.
‘I can’t say all stress is bad, but putting animals in potentially stressful situations, that they can’t avoid or cope with, can be harmful to their welfare,? said Allard. ‘It’s really about how individual animals are coping with the situation. Some dogs like traveling in a car. How does it impact the animal and is it something good or bad? You have to be vigilant with all the ways to assess the individual state of an animal? thinking of the needs the animal has and whether the situation you have them in is capable of meeting the needs.?
To care for any species of animal, it is important to understand their physical, psychological, and emotional needs. Zoos follow certain standards to ensure those needs are met. Zoos, as well as circuses and marine mammal parks, are regulated under the Animal Welfare Act and the United States Department of Agriculture federally inspects the Circus Pages several times per year, Scramlin said.
According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Circus Pages has been cited by the USDA on at least 16 different occasions since 1992 for violations including failure to provide enough space for the animals, enclosures in disrepair, lack of shade in an exercise ring for lions, and several citations for failure to provide veterinary care and medical records.
‘They do not have a vet that travels, but they are federally inspected several times a year by USDA and we verify they have permits and had their inspections,? said Scramlin. ‘There was only one time have we had a vet come in, we used one that services the Detroit Zoo.?
He notes that this year, there were two people on the last day of the fair that announced themselves as protestors of the circus. Scramlin said the fair has also received letters from PETA, and emails that protest the circus. While he understands opposition to the circus, he believes it is important to teach animal husbandry to children at the fair. He notes also that most animals raised by kids and shown at the fair are later sent to slaughter and their meat is sold.
‘Lots of people enjoy steak or barbecue chicken,? said Scramlin. ‘We have done this our entire life and it’s important to learn the right way to handle animals, and the right way to add to the fair experience. Many of our kids become very good friends with the Pages. They get a lot of experience, see the animals even closer up. I’ve been around people who raise animals their entire lives. Some of those people should not have animals, and I have contempt for those who don’t treat animals with respect. It only takes a few minutes to see how much respect and pride (the Pages) have in their animals.?
The zoo, Allard notes, doesn’t want to look at a ‘minimum? amount of space a particular animal needs, but the behavioral needs of animals to be who and what they are.
‘If you can’t provide that, you shouldn’t take on the responsibility of caring for those animals,? she said. ‘You have to be incredibly dedicated to meeting the needs of animals. If you are talking about specific needs of species, if you don’t have the space and social environment, if you can’t provide those things from all those standpoints, it’s hard to ensure they are thriving.?
Out of concern for their welfare, the Detroit Zoo sent their last two elephants, Wanda and Winky, to a California sanctuary in 2005. The elephants had arthritis believed to be caused from too small of quarters at the zoo, exacerbated by harsh Michigan winters. The Detroit Zoo was the first zoo in the U.S. to make the decision on ethical grounds to no longer keep elephants. In the decade since, other zoos have followed their lead.
Allard declined to speculate on whether animals enjoy performing, but Colleen Pages firmly believes her animals do.
Each performance arena is 15-feet high, about 40×40 in diameter, a 350-pound cage with stainless steel aluminum bars that lock together, and she said the animals can’t wait to get in the ring. Achilles, a lion, perks up when his name is announced and the audience claps, said Colleen, and she describes the camels as happy and jumpy when it is time to enter the ring. The elephants trot in place ‘like an eager child,? excited for the treats she feeds them.
‘One likes Oreos and the other likes chocolate chip cookies, and if you give them the wrong one, they throw it back at you,? Colleen said. ‘Elephants are always hungry and will do anything for a cookie.?
Allard agrees that using techniques like positive reinforcement training where relationships are built on trust and positive reward, never punishment or physical altercations is the way to have a working relationship with an animal.
Colleen estimates the elephants eat roughly 10 square bales of hay per day, as well as 25 pounds of vegetables including carrots and potatoes, and a bag of grain. The circus orders custom meat from butchers along their travel route for the lions and tigers and the camels eat grain with alfalfa cubes and hay. Feeding time is the ‘most intense? Colleen sees an animal, but while she said there have been ‘worrisome? moments with the big cats, she feels safe.
Part of that safety comes from reading an animal’s mood and knowing when they are having a ‘bad day? and should not be pushed, she said, and she is always aware of what they are capable of as lions and tigers. If they are having a bad day, they won’t perform, although that is an infrequent occurrence.
‘When it’s raining, they all look at me like, ‘Are you serious right now? I’m not coming out. I’m not rolling in dirt,?? said Colleen. ‘My animals are very spoiled and very prissy. The camels refuse to lay down unless every piece of poop has been picked up. They will put their head to the ground and drive their nose in, like, ‘You missed a spot.??
In the ring, there are fire extinguishers, from which sound and smoke will deter a cat from a negative action, although Collen said she’s never had to use them. She also has two whips, one for each hand while in the ring with the elephants, camels, cats, and horses, but said she does not ever strike the animals.
‘I use the whip as an extension of my hand, guiding them to where I want them to be,? she said. ‘We do not strike the animals whatsoever.?
Colleen believes they know her moods as well, with the elephants sensing when she is sad, and a white male lion that ‘hugs? and purrs. They do her bidding, she said, because of the way they have been raised.
‘If you bring them up with love, compassion, patience, it rewards you that way. It’s like teaching a child how to ride a bike. You are patient and you use treats for animals to teach them something new… Audiences love our show because of how animal-oriented it is, you can ride an elephant, you can pet horses, you can be this close. I think a lot of people appreciate how many animals they get to see up close and in your face and how well they are taken care of, they see along the way that our family is close-knit and helps each other with the animals. These animals feel like our family, my mom says she knew when she married my dad, he had two girlfriends? those elephants. He gives them a pedicure once a week, but won’t touch mom’s feet whatsoever.?
Allard believes all animal caretakers should be striving to give animals the ability to display a large array of behaviors that are natural to them, not ones they have been told to do.
‘The wild can be a pretty scary place? it’s not a romantic place where everything is perfect, but what is most important is knowing the needs of a species and making sure we are able to meet those needs so they are experiencing the highest quality of life they possibly can,? she said. ‘When you are working to protect, conserve them or have them in conditions in which they can thrive, be educated and make sure those needs are met.?
Pages said she wants people to understand that the circus animals are her family.
‘This is our whole world, not just a piece of it,? she said. ‘It’s A to Z for us all day long. Everybody is going to have a different perspective. For myself, it’s what I enjoy doing and I know that whether it’s my dog or elephant, that I give the best life I can give them… People say it’s not what they are born to do, but everyone is raised differently. They have a very good life from my perspective, whether other people see it that way is their perspective. Any job can get stressful, anybody can get tired. I hope that the animals are as comfortable as I see that they are and if they are not, they would show me a sign they are unhappy or angry, and I think they would, because they are very expressive and you are capable of seeing in their eyes whether they are tired or don’t feel good. I plan to do this as long as I can because I have gotten opportunities that a lot of other people haven’t experienced.?