What did he expect? A circus tamer suffered at the paws of a vicious lynx after yanking it off a high chair.
Due to concerns over public safety and animal endangerment, as well as a drop in demand from contemporary audiences, the use of wildlife and dangerous creatures in circuses has generally become less common worldwide.
Trainers risk serious injury every time they roll out animals in the ring.
Just recently, at a local circus in Tskhinvali, in western Georgia, one tamer faced the wrath of an angry lynx after a trick went haywire.
In the video, the young lynx is seen with a chain around its neck before the circus tamer repeatedly yanks on it, despite its clear efforts to stay atop the chair. The tamer’s relentless pulling causes the creature to fall to the ground – what happens next isn’t in anyway surprising.
After hitting the ground, the animal is clearly distressed, flaking out by attacking the trainer and trying to scratch him with its claws. The lynx can also be seen struggling to pull away from the man, before managing to run backstage as the crowd’s screams barrel around the venue.
According to local media, there were a large number of children sitting in the audience, including in the front rows – if the lynx managed to escape, there could have been some horrific injuries due to the sheer lack of protective barriers installed between the stage and attendees.
The clip has attracted the furore of animal rights activists, slamming the circus for using wild animals as well as not putting up a cage to protect those in attendance. One user wrote: ‘I wish they forbid soon this violence against animals.’ Another user added: ‘They need to ban wild animals from performing in circuses at government level. When will this violence against animals stop?!’
James Hamid Sr, a prominent producer of Shrine circuses, told PETA: ‘As we look into the future, we see all circuses moving to non-animal productions. Over the last 20 years, both through strict regulation as well as changing public sentiment, performing animal acts have begun to be a thing of the past.’
Moves to prohibit the use of wild animals in UK circuses have been gaining momentum – just last month in Wales, a proposed bill won cross-party support in the assembly, following conclusive bans in England and Scotland.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.