Animal-Free Circus Colorado seeks to end captive wild animal performances through information, advocacy, and peaceful demonstration.  We are an all-volunteer Colorado group and welcome all who want to be a voice for the elephants, tigers, bears and other captive wild animals forced to perform tricks, give rides or provide entertainment for profit, service club fundraisers, etc. 

We are not alone:

• 71 U.S. jurisdictions (in 27 states) have some form of ban or restriction on wild animal acts.
• More than 2/3 of Americans say they’re “concerned” by the use of animals in circuses (per a 2015 Gallup poll).
• 34 nations have banned or restricted the use of either all animals, or wild animals in circuses.

Circus animals are confined virtually all of their lives in barren conditions, while forced to suffer extreme physical and psychological deprivation:

• Over 90% of their lives are spent in chains or cages.
• They travel nearly all year in trucks and box cars with no climate control; sleeping, eating, and defecating in the same cage.
• When allowed out, these animals are trained using extreme “discipline” such as whipping, hitting, poking, and shocking with electrical prods.
• Even though the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets minimum standards of care, most itinerary stops are not inspected.

Wild animal acts also pose a significant threat to public health and safety:

• Circus elephants may carry tuberculosis (TB), and can infect humans with the bacterial disease. Public records show that circuses have used TB-positive elephants in public performances.
• Circuses are not required by law to carry emergency euthanasia equipment and local law enforcement agencies may be forced to deal with a loose animal.

Elephants, lions, tigers, bears, baboons, monkeys and camels are WILD animals, despite looking docile in circus environments. Domestication does not come at the end of a whip, chain, electric prod or bull hook. Domestication is a genetic change that takes hundreds to thousands of generations of selective breeding for certain traits.

Often, the public views elephants as similar to horses, in that they are another herbivore for riding. However, elephants are not designed to carry weight on their backs because they have sharp protrusions on their vertebrae and it is painful for them to have weight on their backs.

Formed by Michelle DeLaria of Arvada, CO in January 2018, AFCC coordinates with individuals, groups and organizations who advocate an end to captive wild animal performances through information sharing, advocacy, and peaceful demonstration. We are an all-volunteer Colorado group and welcome all who want to be a voice for the elephants, tigers, bears and other captive wild animals forced to perform tricks, give rides or provide entertainment for profit, service club fundraisers, etc.