Judy Carman went to the circus as a child, but now she sees the big top as a center of fear and cruelty for the performing animals.

“A lot of people don’t realize that these animals are being tortured nearly every day,” Carman said, “because they’re not going to perform these tricks unless they’re brutally beaten.”

That’s why Carman and the organization she co-founded, Animal Outreach of Kansas, are asking Lawrence and Douglas County commissioners to ban “exotic animal acts, a law that would effectively prohibit most circuses from coming to town.

Carman said she hoped to get action on the request within the next three or four months, but elected officials sound skeptical.

“I don’t have anything but fond memories of circuses, both as a child and as a parent,” Douglas County Commission Chairman Bob Johnson said last week. “I’m not saying I have my mind made up, but you’d have a hard time changing my mind.”

George Pages, owner of Circus Pages — the last circus to perform in Lawrence, in 2002 — said banning circuses would create a backlash.

“If they pass that law … based on a few people in town, they’re in for a rude awakening,” Pages said from his headquarters in Myakka City, Fla. “It’s just a few people who don’t like circuses.”

‘They can dominate’

That’s because most people don’t realize the cruelty behind the scenes at many circuses, Carman said.

From left, Julia Franklin and Emily Franklin, both Kansas University seniors from Topeka, and Judy Carman, Lawrence, are campaigning for a ban on circuses in Lawrence. Carman, co-founder of Animal Outreach of Kansas, holds a bullhook, which she says is used on elephants.

Circuses are “supposed to be fun,” she said. “But most people love animals, and they’re very compassionate. Once they learn what goes on behind the scenes, they don’t want to go anymore.”

While speaking, she brandished a “bull hook” — essentially a wooden ax handle attached to a sharp metal hook. She said circus trainers used the tool to hit elephants behind the ears, around the eyes and on the legs so the animals would comply with orders.

“They’re trying to get the message across to this animal that, even though humans are smaller, they can dominate,” she said.

Pages said examples of animal cruelty in circuses existed but were rare.

“You can’t judge a whole industry by a few bad apples,” he said. “Not every circus out there will mistreat their animals.”

¢ Circle of compassion (10-12-02)¢ Demonstrators protest at circus (5-27-02)¢Animal Outreach of Kansas

And Pages said he spent plenty of money on feed and medical care for the animals in his circus.

“It’s an act of love,” he said. “You have to love these animals.”

‘An opportunity’

Carman said the ban also would protect public health. Animals can carry disease, or escape from their bonds and injure circus patrons.

She has already met with city and county officials to press for the ban, often carrying the bull hook — mounted to a board to render it benign — to her presentations. She said rodeos and 4-H exhibitions would not be covered under the ordinance.

“We’re getting a positive response so far,” Carman said. “We’re wanting to build a number of supporters, so this can happen for the sake of the animals and our city, our county.”

But Mayor David Dunfield said he wasn’t inclined to ban circuses.

“What I’ve told her in the past is that it seems to me that, yes, there is the possibility of cruelty — undoubtedly some of these operations don’t treat their animals correctly,” Dunfield said.

“They also provide people an opportunity to learn about the animals in the shows, have some interaction they don’t have, and that can be a good thing,” he said. “The educational side is the flip side of the argument.”

But Carman, whose group also shows anti-meat videos Friday nights on the streets of downtown Lawrence, believes people will change their minds when they see the bull hook.

“Because people in general love animals,” she said, “all we really need to do is let them know what’s going on.”