At first glance, circuses may seem like tons of fun. Beautiful, majestic animals we would only see in the wild suddenly appear before us performing tricks with ease. However, if we were to look just a bit closer, we’d surely see the same animals in a different light – as tired, suffering beings who are continuously exploited for the sake of profit and “entertainment.”

Circuses are in fact no fun at all for the animals involved. The wild participants are often kept in constant confinement, spending up to 96 percent of their lives in barren cages. What’s more, in order to learn all the “fun” tricks, the animals are subjected to painful, routine trainings.

“The tricks these animals are forced to perform require extreme physical coercion and violence, including the restriction of food and/or water, use of bull hooks, stun guns and other electric shock devices, as well as metal bars, whips and intimidation,” the Performing Animal Welfare Society reports.

Every major animal-based circus traveling in the U.S. has been cited for violating the minimal standards of care of the Animal Welfare Act and yet people continue to reward them by purchasing tickets and attending their shows, perpetuating animal abuse and suffering.

The video here could certainly help change this cycle. In just 60-seconds flat, the darkest parts of animal circuses are revealed – the abuse, the confinement, and the blatant disregard for welfare. We doubt you’ll want to go to the circus after seeing this video.

Image source: Michael Kensinger / Flickr