Circus ringmaster Martin Lacey appears to be trying to portray the majority of us who will not support his show as being the ones responsible for the welfare these poor animals receive.

Are we to be held responsible for the fact that they have to face long road journeys, never get to experience their natural habitat and have to perform what must be unnatural acts to them?

Come on, Mr Lacey, face up to the fact that this is thankfully a dying industry.

What we all want to see is human talent and there’s plenty of it out there.

Most of us want to teach our children to respect other forms of life and have moved on from the dark old days when animals being made to look ridiculous was entertainment.

Only then can you legitimately call your circus something great and British. Yours is the only remaining circus in this country exploiting animals in this way and yes, most of us do support Timothy Christopher and will continue to boycott your circus.

So come on, wake up to what people, apart from a minority, are saying and bring an end to this exploitation of these wonderful animals. Then and only then will you stand a chance of regaining respect from the British public.

John and Elizabeth Mills
Elizabeth Close
Hockley