Circus animals including elephants, tigers, and bears have historically been subjected to cruel training methods and life in mobile cages with minimal welfare provision.
Circus animal welfare problems stem from the fundamental incompatibility of touring life with the spatial, social, and behavioral needs of large animals. Elephants that travel continuously in cages cannot meet their movement needs. Training methods to produce unnatural behaviors have historically involved coercion and pain. Legislative bans on wild animal circuses are among the most impactful welfare policy achievements.