Jordan World Circus Will Draw Animal Rights Protest

Organizers say animals are abused

The Jordan World Circus is pitching this year's tour as new, exciting, sophisticated and spectacular.

Those mania motorcycle manipulators, the funny, fabulous clowns, amazing aerialists, and the dashing, daring dauntless daredevils will create a "stunning response from the audience," promises the circus. All of these awfully awesome advertising alliterations will manifest before certain Santa Feans' eyes at the Rodeo Grounds on Sunday from 3:30 to 6:30 pm.

But other Santa Feans say the show isn't so spectacular for a subset of performers.

"Each performance includes all the elements of a traditional circus show including but not limited to: lions and tigers," says the circus.

And don't forget about the "enchanting elephants; boundless feats of balance and agility; hazardous horsemanship; precision performing animals of all shapes and sizes."

"It’s a miserable existence for them," Lyndi Martinez says of the animals. "Miserable."

Martinez, who works with Animal Protection New Mexico, says she and a small group have been protesting the use of animals in the circus for the past three years. They'll be passing out pamphlets to circus-goers during Sunday's show.

The Jordan World Circus has not yet replied to SFR's request for comment, made Friday, about its treatment of the animals.

Martinez says the only reason the wild animals perform those feats is because they're abused.

"They’re confined," she says. "They’re chained. They’re slaves. They lose their life. They should be in Africa. Wild elephants walk up to 50 miles a day."

She says the goal of the "peaceful" protest is to raise awareness without condemning attendees. Eventually the group wants the circus to stop using animals all together.

"It's not anything that becomes radical," she says of the protest.

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