We all are fond of animals. We pet them and they become a member of the family. Pets are believed to be one of the best pals a human can have.
They have this superpower of taking all your tensions, stress, apprehensions, and anxiety away from you. Their magnanimity can melt your heart in the first instance.
However, many parents don’t allow having pets. And their unlucky kids end up admiring animals by visiting zoos, national parks, circus, and by scrolling their Instagram feed replete with lovable animals.
A circus is a place where we applaud them not only for their adorability but for their talent. Here mentors give them special skills to perform awe-inspiring acts that leave the audience mesmerized.
No doubt the animals at the circus are phenomenal but the techniques used to train them could be somewhat barbaric.
The use of bullhooks, chains, ropes, and electric prods for their training could end up torturing them. They live in isolation and are abused by the trainers if they fail to do a few simple tricks. These conditions make a circus an inferno for animals.
Circus communities since the past few years have started facing backlash for using animals to entertain people. But last year, a German circus came up with this exceptional idea of using holograms instead of live animals for a cruelty-free magical experience.
Circus Roncalli: First Of Its Kind
Circus Roncalli of Germany is the first in the world to use holograms instead of real animals.
The use of 3D holograms and other projections creates a brand new kind of animal show and it looks like a real spectacle which is breathtaking. They use various animal holograms to give the audience a genuine experience.
They have hologram horses that appear out of nowhere and bolt around the circumference of the circus ring. And when they fade out, a giant fish is projected inertly floating in place. After that, a hologram elephant approaches towards the audience and balances on its front two feet, a trick one might see in a traditional animal act.
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Around 11 projectors are used by the circus to create these 3D holograms and other projections for one show. This innovative and humane project was pulled off by 15 designers and software engineers.
According to a report by BBC, “The idea came to the co-founder of Circus Roncalli, Bernhard Paul when he was watching the NFL Super Bowl half-time show in 2018 where Justin Timberlake was seen singing alongside a hologram of the music legend Prince, who had passed away two years earlier“.
After that Bernhard Paul decided to make this technique work within his circus. Bernhard Paul said, “It shouldn’t be allowed today to transport elephants, crocodiles, hippopotamus and so on, all across Europe. Throughout its history, the circus has always been modern in its approach. I think nowadays, it is more appropriate to show holograms instead of real elephants. For children, adults, and the entire audience, this is much more interesting and in tune with the times than animal husbandry at this point“.
An Evolution In The History Of Circus
This move of not using real animals in their circus has been welcomed by many animal rights activists as a lot of animals face mistreatment while getting trained and during a performance in the circus.
This alternative will preserve the tradition of animal acts while negating concerns of animal cruelty. Also, there is an added benefit as the effects created by holograms are dazzling and life-sized.
Using animals has been banned in circuses by more than 30 countries including India. People could not imagine a circus without animal acts but then we also don’t want animals to live in confined spaces, get stifled, or hurt.
This unprecedented idea of upholding their presence while eliminating the torturesome procedure may very well become the new normal for the circus community.
Image credits: Google images
Source: BBC, Bright Side, World Economic Forum
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