MARGARET SETTER REPLIES TO ROBERT PERRY

by Margaret Setter It is understandable that Robert Perry feels bad about the current dismal status of animal based circuses. Born into a circus family; for him the circus was not just about making a living, it was a way of life. I once read a newspaper interview he gave. His remark, “Cut us and we bleed sawdust” said it all.

Margaret Setter

When Animal Liberation began campaigning against circuses like Perry Bros in the late 70s the circus as an institution was already in slow but steady decline. In about 1941, as a child of five, I was taken to see a performance of Wirth’s Circus. Today’s circuses are but a pale shadow of the spectacle I witnessed that evening. To my childish eyes it seemed like fairyland. How could a child of five understand the cruelty and deprivation that was a feature of the animals’ lives behind the radiant façade?

All the same, it is personally sad to see this talented street fighter, this likeable rascal, identifying so strongly with a tradition that is almost moribund. It is even sadder to note that after a long career living so close to animals he cannot understand, let alone admit, that circus animals lead a futile existence. Endlessly on the move, the circus subjects the animals to long hours of stressful boredom on the roads. Nothing breaks the monotony of the long hours, spent waiting for nothing to happen, the only respite being a few minutes performing in the ring, in the expectation of a feed to follow.

In my opinion, Perry Bros Circus showed a complete disregard for the quality of life of the animals that brought them a living. Monkeys were not only caged but also chained to one small area of the cage. When they came to Liverpool I used to observe their eyes, blank and unfocussed, forever gazing into the distance, rarely if ever engaging with the passer-by. I remember one monkey, named Basil, who was something of an escape artist. One day, enraged by the presence of a member of Animal Liberation, his keeper threw Basil into the face of the protestor. He was fortunate not to be charged for such a dangerous and irresponsible action.

Most of the time circus life is characterised by extreme boredom, for the animals at least. For example, Perry Bros “owned” a non-performing beautiful Black Panther, who was reputed to have been kept confined in his beast wagon for 12 years without a break. But of all the animals, I felt most pity for the elephants. Arna and Bambi, were brought to Australia from Vietnam toward in about 1975. They were very young, almost babies. A former circus performer once showed me pictures of them, posing with Robert and his brother Albie. In height, the elephants barely reached the shoulders of the two brothers.

Reared in the hot and humid climate of Vietnam, Arna and Bambi were forced to cope with climatic extremes without the provision of any form of cover. At various times I have seen them subjected to blazing sunshine or icy rain, and anything in between, usually swaying from side to side, as if compensating for the endless walking they would enjoy if free. On one occasion, late at night, my granddaughter was returning home in a taxi with her boyfriend. As they passed by the circus, the taxi driver commented: “Animal Liberation is going after those bastards”.

And go after them we did! Most people would agree that it is a common duty for us to stand up and speak out for those human beings who are victims of injustice. Surely that duty becomes even stronger in the case of nonhuman animals who cannot speak for themselves. The less able the animal is to defend her rights, the greater is our responsibility to speak out on her behalf.

It would give me great pleasure to claim that Animal Liberation “put Perry Bros Circus out of existence” but that is not the case, and I have never made such a statement. Ever the opportunist, Robert invented this remark, so typical of his fighting style. Combat the critic by erecting a series of straw men from which to score points rather than reflect on and make a rational response to his or her argument.

It was well known that Albie introduced a woman Robert disliked into the circus.
At the time Robert stated in an interview that where Animal Liberation had failed, Albie and his wife had succeeded in breaking up a lifetime circus partnership.

Albie always was the wild card in Perry Bros. Circus. Any time he sighted an animal rights activist handing out leaflets he would charge out fists flailing. I’ll say this in his defence. I witnessed many attempted assaults but his bark was worse than his bite and I have never seen him physically threaten a woman. Apparently it went against his code.

Robert’s speciality was psychological intimidation. The first time I met him I was alone, handing out leaflets in my area. Robert charged forth, calling for a camera. “ I’m going to get the police”, he roared. “I’ll walk up with you”, I replied.

Halfway up the road, we saw a police van pulling out of the station. The sergeant got out in response to Robert’s request. “This woman’s polluting the environment with her leaflets”, Perry kept saying, while I posed with the sergeant for a series of photos.

For a while I thought I was in trouble. Then the sergeant said, in a soothing voice, “Mr Perry, some people think it’s cruel to keep animals in a cage”. And that was the end of the episode, just the first of many such encounters.

On another occasion we were not so lucky. Perry Bros was performing near Campsie. As soon as he noticed our presence, Albie came rushing out, sailing into the nearest male, while an elderly woman and I were handing out leaflets a short distance away. Robert’s photographic ritual began but on my companion on this occasion refused to co-operate. Attempting to shield her face with her handbag she accidentally knocked the camera, which fell to the ground.

Scarcely missing a beat Perry called the police. Everyone trooped down to Campsie Police Station, where a very hostile constable interrogated the poor woman, who was almost scared out of her wits. The case hung over her head for over a year, because of several postponements applied for by the circus. In the end it lapsed. Not longer after, she died of emphysema.

Albie was the circus lion tamer. In about 1992 or thereabouts, ABC TV decided to feature Perry Bros in its popular “Couchman” series. Animal Liberation was invited to attend. In the ring Albie put on the most pathetic and inept demonstration it has been my misfortune to witness. Bent over double, a whip in one hand, a length of timber in the other, Albie demonstrated a complete lack of mastery of his trade.

When shown on TV a few weeks later, the performance looked more frightful, made worse by the added sound track that had been inaudible to the audience on the night. There was Albie, swearing and cursing with all his might, being treated with disdain by three surly and obviously bored lions. So much for Robert’s claim that his animals were ‘treated like royalty”, “better than family”. “If one of the kids got sick in the circuses we’d say, “Get a doctor later on “ but with an animal we’d get a vet straight away. What rot! How many exotic animal vets practice in rural Australia? More likely the family, when out in the bush, would contact a vet who would give advice by phone.

Over many years, Animal Liberation has fought hard for the abolition of the animal circus. On the way, we achieved some significant reforms. There are no more black panthers eating their heart out in a solitary cage: All animals must be provided with outdoor enclosures: Elephants must not be chained in daylight hours: Animals must be treated with respect, must not be dressed up as humans, forced to perform unnatural tricks: Big cats must not be forced to jump through hoops of fire.

The circus played no part in these reforms but resisted all the way. A draft code of practice introduced in 1993 was revised nine times before the Circus Federation submitted. By then Bambi had died prematurely of asphyxiation, and Arna was alone. These intelligent animals had spent thirty years together, and for all that time each was chained by one leg, barely able to move.

Treated like royalty indeed!

Margaret Setter