Circus

The bottom line for the big top

By Nick Louth 

March 2008 

Martin Lacey thought his end had come back in 2000 when he was lying on his back being mauled by two fully-grown Bengal tigers. More than three decades as an animal trainer, and it all nearly came to a grisly end after he stepped backwards onto the paw of one of his animals.

Lacey showed me scars which prove that tigers don’t have much of a sense of humour. Yet eight years later, and at the age of 65 when most people might consider retiring, Lacey is still training big cats and entertaining thousands of families a week.

Tough times

Clearly, it’s a tough business.

Circuses have had many types of mauling in recent years, much of it financial. Soaring fuel costs, licence fees, insurance, veterinary costs and animal feed all have to be found out of cash income. Dealing with cash, in which almost all suppliers insist on being paid, has its own costs and headaches.

Wages alone come to about £1,000 a day for the roughly 30 staff, most of them East European, and that cost is incurred of course whether there is a show going on or not. Most of the staff have trouble being approved for a bank account, because their work seems so casual and is cash-based.

The biggest challenge is the issue of sites. Around 200 local authorities do not allow circuses with animals to operate on council-owned sites. That means that they are confined to private sites, often far from the population centres. “This alone can reduce you income by 50-60%,” Lacey says.

Pressure from animal rights

This decision, a hangover from pressure from animal rights groups, forced most circuses into a tough decision a decade or so ago. Most gave up the animals, became a human-only circus, and regained access to the best sites. Lacey’s Great British Circus retained its animals, runs the gauntlet of animal rights campaigners, and gets by on peripheral sites.

On top of that an onerous licensing system makes a bureaucratic nightmare for circuses as they move around the country.

A permanent licence to operate from a site, only one of dozens that a circus will use during a year, costs £700-£1,000, on top of the rent. Each year it must be renewed with the relevant local authority, at a cost of £70-£80. That is an awful lot of form filling on top of the cost.

Temporary licences 

Even if the site isn’t used, Lacey says he needs to keep the licence and keep his slot on it. Instead, Lacey often uses temporary £22 licences, but these restrict to 96 hours the amount of time they can be used per visit.

“What I’d really like to see is to be licensed by one local authority, and to be able to use that licence around the country, wherever I go.” 

The costs of running a circus are staggering. “It costs me £100 in fuel to move the circus 10 miles. Then there is the £1,500 cost of diesel to heat the big top,” he said. There was nothing in the recent Budget to make that any easier, even though this year’s fuel duty escalator was postponed for six months.

A village on the move

The circus is essentially a village on the move, and with all the troubles that any community could expect. That includes petty crime, professional rivalries, family feuds, and even lover’s tiffs.

“I’m expected to be everything from St Francis of Assisi, to Claire Rayner to the captain of a ship,” says Lacey. Within the industry, he says, he has a reputation as a stickler for discipline but a reliable payer. He has no trouble recruiting acts.

Animal rights

Lacey is most sensitive on the charge of animal cruelty, and having received death threats from animal rights activists, that isn’t surprising.

As a government-registered animal trainer, and a multiple award-winner of the UK award Best Circus with Animals, Lacey is adamant that the respect, care and love he shows to all the animals is second to none.

Winning over the critics

Regular inspections are undertaken by trading standards and veterinary consultants. Shadow animal welfare minister Andrew Rosindell MP wrote the foreword to the circus programme. A report by Defra recently concluded that there was no scientific evidence to back claims that travelling circuses do not meet animal welfare needs.

 “Circus animals are like police dogs or police horses. Both mentally and physically they have a long day, so they need to go back to their kennels and stables in the evening.”

There’s no doubt that animals add an extra dimension to circuses.

Even in the age of the X-Box, kids are thrilled by seeing them in a live act. Many of today’s children have far less exposure to animals than their parents or grandparents, and even a simple act with one shire horse and a cheeky miniature pony chasing each other round the ring had the audience in gasps and giggles.

Mesmerising tigers

The tigers brought a hush. Poised, effortless and overwhelmingly powerful, the intensity of their gaze was almost impossible to meet. Sitting in the front row, just ten feet away, I felt I was being appraised as the starters in an all-you can eat buffet. 

Lacey was brought up in Germany, where his father was stationed as a regimental sergeant major in the Royal Artillery. Agricultural college was followed by working at Chester zoo, where he worked his way up to become director.

What of the future?

The chunks taken out of Lacey’s knee have healed. Yet other deeper wounds in Britain’s struggling circus industry still remain.

A generation ago there were 32 circuses in Britain, and now there are 27. With the pressures on the industry this perhaps isn’t surprising.

But every time a big top comes down for good, we and our children miss out on a piece of up-close live entertainment that really is a shame.

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