Gemini Circus Makes History as First in India to Introduce Robotic Animals, Awarded by PETA India

Gemini Circus has been awarded a certificate from PETA India for using innovative robotic animals to attract patrons. In 2015, PETA India inspections caused the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to revoke the circus’s Performing Animal Registration Certificate for violation of laws and cruelty to animals.

Inspections by the AWBI and investigations by PETA India have revealed that animals used in circuses are subjected to chronic confinement, physical abuse, and psychological torment. Whips and other weapons are used to inflict pain and beat them into submission, forcing them to perform frightening and confusing tricks out of fear of violent punishment.

When they aren’t performing in front of boisterous crowds, animals used in circuses endure a lifetime of misery. Their access to water, food, and veterinary care is often severely restricted. Dogs may be crammed into wire cages and rarely let out. Birds are often confined to small, filthy cages, and their wings are crudely clipped so they can’t fly. Horses are typically kept tethered on short ropes.

Two regulatory bodies, the AWBI and the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), have recognised that animal circuses are inherently cruel and that the use of animals in circuses in India should be prohibited. The AWBI previously advised the central government to pass legislation prohibiting animals in circuses across the country over animal welfare concerns, and the CZA wrote in support of prohibiting the use of elephants in circuses for the same reason. In 2018, the central government issued draft rules proposing to prohibit the use of all animals in circuses across the country, but the rules have yet to be passed.