Resorts World Sentosa and SISTIC have drawn immense flak online for bringing a poodle circus show from China to Singapore. SISTIC is promoting the show, entitled “Chinese New Year Dog Circus 2018”, on it’s social media pages and website as such:
“Amazing Awesome Acrobatic Fun for everyone in the Year of Dog!
“When the first and only Dog Circus from China is in town for the Chinese New Year, it is the show you should never miss! Lots of laughter and amazing performances by the cute lovely poodles with many attractive and unique performers to bring to you a brand new circus experience that includes breathtaking Kungfu diabolo, ring stunts, fun acrobatics, giant balloon acts, bubble show and funny clowns acts, leaving your eyes wide opened with a “WOW”.
“Chinese New Year Dog Circus 2018. Edge-of-your-seat thrills in entertainment that abounds with stunning actions, great energies, wonderful excitement and everlasting happiness!”
The importing of a dog circus from China is certainly troubling, considering the poor, inhumane treatment of dogs China is notorious for.
Netizens have excoriated RWS and SISTIC for bringing such a show here and have accused the organisations of supporting animal cruelty:
A petition calling on the authorities to ban the China dog circus from performing here. The petition was started 3 hours ago and has already garnered over 1,500 signatures – meeting more than half of its total target of 2,500 signatures. The organisers of the petition are appealing for the ban and boycott of the “outrageously appalling and extremely disappointing” show:
“A Poodle circus from China is scheduled to be performed in Singapore in time to welcome Chinese New Year – as quoted from them – “circus experience that includes breathtaking Kungfu diabolo, ring stunts, fun acrobatics, giant balloon acts, bubble show and funny clowns acts”.
“It is a well-known fact that using animals (wild and domesticated) for entertainment, especially in circus, is a severely archaic, cruel, and unethical practice. Singapore brands herself as a modern, forward-looking cosmopolitan global city. Having to chance upon this news online; to first-hand witness Resorts World Singapore bringing in an animal performance act and promoting animal cruelty is outrageously appalling and extremely disappointing.
“In circus, many animals are abused and punished daily in order to force them to perform. Physical punishment has always been the standard training method for animals in circuses. Animals are beaten, shocked, and whipped to make them perform—over and over again—tricks that make no sense to them. These animals are subjected to psychological abuse, physical abuse and coercing the dogs to behave through fear-based techniques.
“Earlier this year in May, the world rejoiced over the closing of Ringling Brothers, an American traveling circus company that is notorious for using wild and exotic animals in performance, animal neglect, inducing high levels of stress, physical mistreatments, and cruel training methods. Allowing and promoting animal circuses in Singapore prove we are regressing and losing humanity in the process of being a progressive and animal-friendly nation.
“The truth is wild animals don’t perform because they want to. They perform because they’re fearful. There are video evidences of animals subjected to cruel and vicious physical torture while “training” for their circus acts in China. Being in a circus for animals, is a nightmare for them.”
The petition organisers also shared the following pertinent videos showing animal cruelty in Chinese circus and a behind the scenes video of an animal performance show in China. Viewer discretion is advised:
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UPDATE – SISTIC has since cancelled the show due to public demand:
https://theindependent.sg.sg/sistic-cancels-china-dog-circus-at-the-behest-of-concerned-members-of-the-public/