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In this June 22, 2014 photo Alex Fuentes coaches Furia, a female Bengal Tiger, during a performance with the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. The tigers are declawed when they are babies as to not harm the trainers, said Alex, who had suffered an injury a few years ago when one of his tigers bit into his thigh leaving gaping hole. It took him two months to recover. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_5]()
In this June 22, 2014, photo, Bebeto Fuentes, left, and his brothers, Alex, center, and Juventino, right, perform trapeze at the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. For five generations, Fuentes family has been running the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City, but a new law has them worried about its future. Last week Mexico Citys legislative assembly banned the use of animals in circuses, responding to months of pressure from animal activists. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_7]()
In this June 22, 2014 photo a tiger jumps through a ring of fire during a performance of the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. Besides frequent training sessions the tigers only leave their cages for daily performances. Mexico City and six of Mexicoâs 32 states have now banned circus animals. Nationwide bans on circus animals have swept through Latin America recently, and Fuentes, along with other performers at his familyâs circus, fear a Mexican federal law is sure to follow the capitalâs law goes into effect. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_10]()
In this June 22, 2014 photo performers wait behind the curtain before a show at the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City, Sunday, June 22, 2014. The performers work two shows everyday with the exception of Sundays when they work four shows. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_2]()
In this June 22, 2014 photo Karla Rosales, one of the performers with the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus, heads back to the the dressing room between performances in Mexico City. Recent legislation in the city will ban animals from the circus once the law takes effect next year. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_13]()
In this June 22, 2014 photo Furia, a female Bengal Tiger, looks at Alex Fuentes, the trainer, during a performance with the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. Besides their daily feed of two whole chickens, Fuentes still on occasion feeds the tigers special nutrient filled milk by hand out of a baby bottle. Its good for their digestion, he said. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_12]()
In this June 25, 2014, photo, Bebeto Fuentes coaches Boster, a camel, during a performance with the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. Besides the camel the Fuentes Gasca Brothers also own horses and other exotic animals including tigers and a zebra. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_14]()
In this June 25, 2014, photo a performer balances on a tight rope during the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus show in Mexico City. Approximately 100 people are employed by the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus. Mexico City and six of Mexicos 32 states have now banned circus animals. Nationwide bans on circus animals have swept through Latin America recently, and Fuentes, along with other performers at his familys circus, fear a Mexican federal law is sure to follow the capitals law goes into effect. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_16]()
In this June 25, 2014, photo, Bebeto Fuentes, one of the performers with the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus, wears a vest with a sequined image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Like many of the performers at the circus Fuentes performs in a variety of capacities including trapeze artist, clown, acrobatics and animal trainer. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_4]()
In this June 22, 2014, photo, performers ride a horse during one of their routines with the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. Recent legislation in the city will ban animals from the circus once the law takes effect next year. The law promises steep fines for noncompliance. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_8]()
In this June 22, 2014 photo Brenda Huerta, age 6, and her sister, Daniela, age 5 react to circus animals during a performance of the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. Circus performers fear that without their animals they will not survive because they believe people wont want to come to their performances only to see the acrobatic, trapeze and performances by clowns. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_18]()
In this June 25, 2014 photo Alma Orocco, the ringmaster, waits backstage at the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. Orocco and hundreds of other circus performers have taken to the streets of Mexico City recently to protest legislation that will ban the use of animals in the circus. The circuses have one year to change their acts or face steep fines. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_15]()
In this June 22, 2014 photo, Aineses Macias waits to perform during the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. Like many of the performers in the circus Macias was born and raised in the circus. Recent legislation in the city will ban animals from the circus once the law takes effect next year. Many circus performers fear theyll be out of work without animals because people wont want to come to the circus only to see the acrobatic, trapeze and performances by clowns. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_6]()
In this June 22, 2014, photo a family watches a performance of the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. Attendance has been dwindling at the performances after a six-month ad campaign financed by animal rights groups, said Xochitl Fuentes, one of the owners of the troupe. Now, after the recent legislation which bans the use of animals in the circus, Fuentes fears nobody will want to come. If they take the animals out of the circus the circus is going to die, said Fuentes, who is mother to four of the brothers who perform in the circus. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_mexico]()
In this June 22, 2014 photo Alex Fuentes prepares before a trapeze performance at the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. Like many of the performers in the circus Fuentes was born and raised in the circus where his father was also an animal tamer and trainer. Fuentes and other performers at the circus fear that people wont come to a circus without animals. Its the circus, its magical and its what Ive dedicated my life to since I was 15 and now they want to take away from me what Ive desired my whole life, said Fuentes, now 30. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_17]()
In this June 25, 2014 photo the entrance to the circus is vacant between performances in Mexico City. Sandwiched between a Sams Club and a Wal-Mart on the outskirts of the city the circus has been in existence in one location or another in the city for five generations. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)![circus_3]()
Tiger trainer Alejandro Fuentes looks into the cage of a tiger after they performed for the media in Mexico City, Thursday, June 19, 2014. The circus organized a press conference and demonstration after the city banned circus animal acts, to show the media how they treat their animals and the conditions in which they live. The measure was passed by the city's legislature on June 9, 2014, but the law has not yet been signed into law by the city mayor. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)![circus_1]()
In this June 22, 2014 photo a circus worker helps construct a temporary enclosure around the ring to protect the audience from the tigers at the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City. The tigers used in the circus are Bengal Tigers that range in weight from 350 to 500 pounds. (AP Photo/Sean Havey)Without Animals, Would People Still Go To The Circus?
Mexico City and six of Mexico's 32 states have now banned circus animals. Circus performers fear that without their animals they will not survive because they believe people wont want to come to their performances only to see the acrobatic, trapeze and performances by clowns.
Move Forward
- Without Animals, Would People Still Go To The Circus?
