While animal-rights organizations around the world have been tirelessly lobbying to end the use of wild animals, including elephants, in circuses for decades, there once was a time when the now-problematic entertainment shows were a quintessential pastime for children and families.
Throughout the 20th century, elephants were often used in parades, promotions, and events in Toronto, attracting large crowds of spectators.
The Garden Bros Circus is perhaps one of the most notable circuses that performed in Toronto and across North America, and played a significant role in the city’s entertainment history with its programs full of exotic animals, acrobats, and clowns.
Elephants at Toronto City Hall with the Garden Bros Circus after marching down Yonge Street in May 1971. Photo: Toronto Star Archives.
California-based Circus Vargas was also known for operating a 315-by-165 foot tent at Scarborough Town Centre in 1975, where children of all ages attended to marvel over trapeze artists, sword swallowers, and lion tamers.
Circus Vargas elephants being fed at Scarborough Town Centre in July 1975. Photo: Toronto Star Archives.
As a result, there are tons of awe-inspiring images of elephants marching down notable Toronto streets, including Yonge Street, or stationed outside of attractions like Roy Thomson Hall and the Skydome.
One jaw-dropping photo from the 1920s shows circus elephants walking down Brock Avenue on their way to the former Dufferin Park Racetrack, which is located where Dufferin Mall now stands.
Conductor Andrew Davis with Rex the elephant outside of Roy Thomson Hall in 1986. Photo: Toronto Star Archives.
Despite their beauty and spectacle, the treatment of circus animals, including animals, was often far from humane. As one of the most intelligent and social animals on the planet, elephants were often subjected to harsh conditions during their time in circuses.
As circuses travelled from city to city across the continent, the sensitive creatures spent the majority of their time confined to cramped, barren cages or trailers, where they had little room to move and were often contained using leg shackles, which restricted their movement to a single step in any direction.
Mayor Art Eggleton with an elephant outside Toronto City Hall in 1987. Photo: Toronto Star Archives.
Trainers were also known to use methods like billhooks to inflict pain and coerce elephants into performing tricks. As a result, it wasn’t uncommon for elephants to display signs of aggression or distress, which were often the result of the traumatic and unnatural conditions they endured.
One particularly heartbreaking incident in Ontario in 1972 highlighted the dangers of using elephants in circuses. That August, the Canadian International Circus was due to perform in Sudbury, but just before the show, an assistant trainer — Chester Longe of Tresham, Oregon — was trampled by an 11-year-old elephant, Tina.
Longe was unchaining three elephants as the circus unloaded for the weekend stand when he was fatally injured. On that Saturday, Tina was taken to a city garbage dump, where she was shot by an officer of the Ministry of Natural Resources and buried in a large pit.
A trio of elephants with the Shrine Circus at Nathan Phillips Square in 1990. Photo: Toronto Star Archives.
While the use of wild animals in circuses has largely — but not completely — been phased out across the world, the federal government took an additional step in protecting animals like elephants in December 2023.
The Senate tabled Bill S-15 (An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act), which would prohibit the use of captive elephants and great apes for entertainment in a performance. The Criminal Code offence would be punishable by a fine not exceeding $200,000. The Senate officially passed the bill in December 2024.
Photo: Toronto Star Archives.
“Bill S-15 can and should achieve the world’s first nationally legislated phase-out of elephant captivity, as recommended by scientists,” said Senator Marty Klyne, independent Senate sponsor of Bill S-15.
“Canada is leading the way to protect captive elephants and great apes, building on our groundbreaking whale and dolphin captivity laws passed in 2019.”
While once an integral part of circus performances, the overwhelming consensus today is that elephants, like all animals, deserve to live free from the exploitation and abuse that often comes with the entertainment industry.
