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THE owners of a controversial circus have defended the use of wild animals as entertainment amid growing international alarm over the treatment of their big cats.
Animal rights campaign group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has called for expats and locals in Bahrain to boycott the big tent claiming it is a 'medieval prison'.
The Golden Circus is currently playing to audiences near the Ahli Club in Zinj with two shows daily featuring three lions, one tiger and one lion cub alongside an array of human acts, including a colourful clown, an acrobat, snake charmer and a dare-devil fire juggler.
Event organisers Frsan International Management, say expert Egypt-based animal trainer Mohamed Mamdouh Al Helwa is in the kingdom with his big cats to ensure they are well looked after.
Administration manager Mohammad Zayyad said: "The Al Helwas are well-known lion trainers and have been in the profession for generations. There is no question of them ever ill-treating their animals as they consider them to be members of the family."
The 30-year-old trainer says his grandfather was tragically killed during a show after being mauled by a lion but the tragedy only strengthened the family's resolve to keep the circus alive.
Al Helwa said: "We still carry on his traditions to this day and, to keep his legacy alive, all the men in our family are called Mohammed. We have grown up with these lions."
Jason Baker, director of PETA Asia, recently published a research paper on how wild animals are, in the campaign group's opinion, ill-treated in circuses.
He said: "The lions, tigers and other animals at the Golden Circus do not voluntarily jump through rings of fire.
"They don't perform difficult tricks because they want to; they perform them because they're afraid of what will happen if they don't.
"For animals in circuses, there is no such thing as 'positive reinforcement' - only varying degrees of punishment and deprivation. To force them to perform these totally meaningless and physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods and similar tools of the trade."
Both Mr Zayyad and Mr Al Helwa dismissed these allegations and said the whip in the ring was only used to 'prod' the animals to make sure they performed.
"Some of the animals may have marks or scratches on their bodies," said Mr Zayyad, "but these must have been caused while they are being transported."
In February this year, the Golden Circus faced serious criticism when five lions and two tigers were left unattended for five days in Bahrain after it faced difficulty arranging transportation to take the animals to a booking in Qatar. The company ended up paying BD16,000 to hire a cargo plane from Egypt to transport the animals.
As well as the big cats, the circus also features a python used by a Ukrainian snake charmer in her act. Mr Zayyed added: "We had two snakes. But, unfortunately one died recently after inhaling the fumes of kerosene used during one of the acts.
"We are now extremely cautious and make sure not to use any chemicals near or around the animals."
In the coming weeks Mr Zayyad hopes to introduce even more acts to the shows - both animal and human - from different parts of the world as the circus has plans to expand in the near future.
He said: "Our Eid opening was a great success. We are the busiest during the weekends. With more activities and programmes planned shortly we expect to receive even more visitors.
The circus operates two shows daily at 6pm and 8pm and charges BD3, BD5 and BD10 for tickets. The season runs in Bahrain until the end of December.
However, the campaign, against the circus continues: "Existing laws do nothing to protect animals in circuses. It's up to us to say, 'enough is enough'," added Mr Baker.
