Entertainment and Amusement: Animals in the Performing Arts | 213 organized circuses, dating at least as far back as imperial Roman times, are the best-known form of animal performance, more specialized animal acts are found all over the world, ranging from such admired institutions as the Lipizzaner Stallions to the often desperate dancing bears, drumming monkeys, and undulating cobras used in the street performances of organ grinders and snake charmers A similarly vast range of venues and presentation styles makes animal performance difficult to conceptualize and analyze coherently From the cosseted biblical animals of Radio City Music Hall’s annual Christmas Spectacular to the listless alligators forced to behave threateningly for tourists in Florida’s Everglades; from the white lions and tigers in Siegfried and Roy’s glitzy Las Vegas magic show to the inscrutable felines in such bizarre and idiosyncratic acts as the Moscow Cats Theatre, animals appear in every genre and level of performance Whether this ubiquity in itself is testimony to the value, naturalness, or necessity of animal performance is an open question Certainly the reform or rejection of such practices, while it might alter some traditional formulations of national identity, could hardly hurt humans more than it will help animals A second defense of the use of animals in entertainment is the claim that human beings, especially children, who witness the awe-inspiring prowess or amusing Elephants from the Ringling Brother’s circus walk through the streets of Manhattan on their way to Madison Square Garden in New York City Elephant trainers use chains and metaltipped prods called bull hooks to train and control the elephants in this and other circuses (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)