Stories from Tri-City News headlines of decades past is a recurring feature as the publication marks its 40th anniversary in 2024.
The circus came to town in the summer of 1995.
So did animal rights protesters.
About 50 of them marched the Coquitlam sports centre on Poirier Street where the Shrine Circus was scheduled to perform. Many carried signs and placards decrying the use of tigers, lions, bears and elephants for the amusement of human audiences.
“The only exercise they get is when they perform,” a director of the Vancouver Humane Society told the Tri-City News, adding the animals are often chained or in cages, standing in their own feces and urine.
But a tiger keeper for the circus said its six big cats, plus two lions, are well-cared for
“If this animal was mistreated, he would be cowering now,” Chris Kilpatrick said of one of the tigers lolling in a cage outside the arena.
“I’ve had this guy since he was a day old. He’s like a member of my family.”
Kilpatrick said the tigers travel and perform for five months of the year and get two days off a week. They spend the rest of their time at a ranch in southern California where the better-behaved cats are allowed to road free.
But the protesters said such assertions are little comfort.
They said they planned to lobby Coquitlam council to ban circus animals in the community and pressure operators to send them to sanctuaries to live out their lives.
“I’m convinced as more and more municipalities stop these shows, these facilities will be made available to animals,” said one.
The Tri-City News has covered civic affairs, local crime, festivals, events, personalities, sports and arts in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody since 1983. Bound back issues of the paper are available at the Coquitlam Archives, while digital versions of several past years can be found at issuu.com.
