The video - showing circus animals in China – is narrated by Terry Waite, who tells us that his own experiences in captivity allow him to relate to the isolation and desperation of the animals that are featured. It isn’t a video for the faint-hearted: it shows scenes of circus animals carrying out humiliating and dangerous tricks in a style not seen in Europe for many decades. Tiger tamers put their heads and hands into the mouths of big cats who’ve had their teeth and claws brutally removed. Lions jump through hoops of fire, because they know that if they don’t, they’ll be subjected to even more pain and fear. Bears jump through a skipping rope and over hurdles because they’re forced to do so. Elephants are prodded with electric shocks to train them to contort themselves in bizarre ways that some humans seem to find amusing.
