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Northeastern University has announced that the school will not invite the univerSoul circus back to its campus in the future. Northeastern officials made the decision after reviewing a letter from PETA about the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) citations against the circus’s animal leasers. The leasers allegedly fail to provide animals with adequate veterinary care and space as well as fail to maintain medical records.

The circus does not own any of its own animals and cannot be cited in its own name, but the companies that they lease animals through have been cited for failure to provide animals with adequate veterinary care and space and failure to maintain medical records. Even though none of UniverSoul Circus’ leasers had been cited recently, Northeastern still found the evidence compelling enough to bar the circus from its campus.

In the past, the circus used two kangaroos in a boxing match in which, according to PETA, the animals were restrained with harnesses and taunted into defending themselves.  One of the kangaroos died in 2003 from complications due to “lumpy jaw,” a bacterial infection that is often caused by overcrowding, poor hygiene or poor diet.

In 2002, UniverSoul Circus was observed using elephants owned by Frisco Brother’s Petting Zoo, months after PETA released an undercover video of Tom Frisco beating animals with metal hooks and electric prods during a training section. In the video, he instructs other trainers to sink hooks into the animals specifically to cause them to scream in pain.

Aside from these extreme incidents, it must be a struggle for a circus to provide care for its dozens of animals while traveling, often in extreme weather conditions. It is no surprise that more and more people are finding that questionable treatment of animals is not worth the couple hours of entertainment they receive as a spectator. All-human circuses such as Cirque du Soleil provide a great worry-free alternative. –Valerie Lute