24 September 2012

Circus in Belconnen

| Mike Bessenger
Join the conversation
11

I was in Belconnen earlier this morning and noticed the circus are parked up in the gravel overflow carpark behind the mall. I’m not sure if this is the location of the circus as they are usually on Ginninderra Drive.

What surprised me was the minature horses and donkeys tied to the back of the trailers with not food, no water and nothing but gravel to nibble on.

Giving them the benefit of doubt I thought they’d accommodate them better by the time I return home. Five hours on and they are in the same position as they were this morning. It’s not the hottest of days but it’s warm under the sun and we are expecting mid twenties by mid week.

It’s saddens me that in this day and age this still happens in public.

Join the conversation

11
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

You should report what you saw. I once lived in a rural area and regularly saw a horse tethered to a tree with limited room to eat and graze .. I didn’t know who to call, but ended up filling in an online form to the RSPCA. They called me back about 2 weeks later to say the guy had previous charges with animal neglect and that his neighbours were making regular reports and that he was warned in regards to my complaint.

I know it’s not much, but if more than one person makes a complaint then it tends to be taken more seriously.

Anyway, who the hell goes to the circus to see animals. Those poor creatures 🙁

Mike Bessenger said :

stonedwookie said :

yeh thats where the circus normally goes in belconnen

Interesting. The last couple of years I have seen it (Webers) on Ginninderra Drive.

Last couple of years yes it has been on Ginninderra Drive at Charnwood and near the lake. But that land has been used for years and years for the circus.

Interesting that is Westfield is building the office block. I had thought the land they were going to do that on was across the road next to the mall carpark, hence why the newer part of the multistory carpark is not as wide as the older part.

The circus that was at Gungahlin last holidays used large grassy areas which they fenced as paddocks for their horses to roam in, which seemed quite reasonable. I assumed there were minimum (legal?) specifications as to the amount of grass the animals are to be provided.
Perhaps the current Circus in Belconnen is taking advantage of the government being in limbo.

There was a Tent of Hope (http://www.tentofhope.com/) there just the other week.

Mike Bessenger9:13 pm 24 Sep 12

stonedwookie said :

yeh thats where the circus normally goes in belconnen

Interesting. The last couple of years I have seen it (Webers) on Ginninderra Drive.

SnapperJack said :

So the circus is in town. Will Phillip Pocock be the clown?

Maybe they’d tie him up out the back with the horses and donkeys and give him gravel to eat.

EvanJames said :

Circus people and carnies are a hard-bitten crowd. I’m glad the ACT bans circuses with exotic animals, but yep, they can still neglect non-exotic animals . What a miserable existence for those poor creatures.

I agree. I can’t understand why treatment deemed unacceptable for exotic animals is supposed to be OK for non-exotic domestic species. Suffering is suffering.

stonedwookie6:33 pm 24 Sep 12

yeh thats where the circus normally goes in belconnen nextyear westfeild should be commencing on there 12 storey office block on that spot so there will be no space for it soon anyway

He’ll be the main attraction in the freak show tent.

So the circus is in town. Will Phillip Pocock be the clown?

Circus people and carnies are a hard-bitten crowd. I’m glad the ACT bans circuses with exotic animals, but yep, they can still neglect non-exotic animals . What a miserable existence for those poor creatures.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.