Group opposes use of animals in circus

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Mayor Byron Brown welcomed it to Buffalo on the steps of City Hall. But animal advocates have a bone to pick with the circus that's come to town.

They call it "hip hop under the big top." The UniverSoul Circus is in town and the Queen City is rolling out the welcome mat.

National promotions manager Econuel Ingram said, "We have acts from China, from Russia, Africa, South America."

It's the sixth time this show has come to Buffalo. Anjelique Miller has seen it before.

"It was really fun, it was a lot of energy, they got the crowd involved a lot, really fun," recounted Miller.

But there are a few people who won't be rushing out to buy tickets.

Animal advocate Chris Gugliuzza said, "This organization has a long track record for animal abuse, they've been banned from several cities already."

UB students Chris Gugliuzza and Ashley Re say they've been doing a lot of research on the UniverSoul Circus.

"We found out a lot about how they torture the animals here to get them to comply with the actions that they're performing," said Re.

We found the caged tigers sleeping mostly, and the elephants didn't seem to do much either.

Maureen Schiener of Animal Advocates of WNY said, "And when elephants sway like that, that's denotes extreme boredom."

Schiener says she's not opposed to the circus, just the use of animals.

"When the animal is young, they're taken from their mother, they're beaten into submission to perform these tricks because they're unnatural tricks. An animal does not walk on its hind legs in the wild, does not jump through hoops of fire," said Schiener.

No one from the circus would speak to us on camera, but we did receive a statement, denying any mistreatment of their animals. It states, "In over 17 years and more than 8,000 performances, none of our animal vendors have ever been cited for animal abuse while performing at the UniverSoul Circus. We work closely with local, state and federal agencies to ensure that our commitment to a high standard of animal care is upheld."

The circus will be performing nine shows at UB's South Campus from Thursday through Sunday. You can learn more about the circus here.