This past week and weekend, the famous Ringling Brothers Circus made its annual debut in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thousands of spectators from the city always come to support such a spectacle, but many of them are clueless about what their money is going towards.

From 1994 to 2005, at least 31 circus elephants have died premature deaths, which doesn’t even account for the deaths in the last ten years. Elephants in the circus are chained by two legs for 95 percent of their lives, in living spaces no larger than a car. A former Ringling Bros. employee spoke out about the outrage of the elephant abuse on PETA’s website, claiming “I saw handlers deliver a beating… for 30 minutes. She was covered with bloody wounds. I’ll never forget her agonizing screams,” says Hundley. “Please, never take your children to a Ringling Bros. circus.” This type of abuse does not occur only occasionally; it occurs every single day. They are hit with bull hooks, electric shock prods and ropes.

Thankfully, the Ringling Bros. have announced to rid their elephant acts after their abuse was exposed, hopefully by May. However, this doesn’t mean that the elephants will be able to ever live a normal life again.

Although this is great news, it doesn’t go without saying that elephants have been physically and mentally abused for years by the circus, and unfortunately, they’re not the only ones suffering. Big cats in the circus, although not as tortured because of their size, still suffer from abuse. They are caged for almost their whole lives and are forced to do unnatural stunts which cause them pain.

If the facts aren’t grueling enough, take a minute to watch a few videos on the circus abuse, if you still are in denial.

These animals are stolen and beaten their whole lives, just to be laughed at and pointed at by viewers like you, for entertainment and money. Thankfully, it’s not too late! In order to help shut down the circus, don’t buy tickets nor attend any circuses with animals involved -- it’s that easy! Not only will you be saving a couple of bucks, but you’re also potentially saving the lives of the animals, too! If we all work together, we can #BanTheCircus and make sure that elephants and big cats stay in the wild where they belong.