I haven't taught my kinds that circuses are not universally embraced.

I've never hinted at the idea that the animals could be mistreated, or at the very least, might not be having fun entertaining crowds of thousands in a Miami arena by hopping around a circle on their hind legs rather than scouting something smaller than them to kill and eat in the jungle.

Say it ain't so!

At the end of our holiday vacation, we took both kids to the opening night of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at American Airlines Arena in Miami, which is running through Jan. 13.

It was a great family night out. We were acting out an American cliche: the family eating cotton candy at the circus, inhaling the excitement of the flying trapeze and the stench of elephant dung.

But Creed, our 7th grader, is a born animal rights activist. He does not condone the killing of bugs even when they are caught inside the house and are so small they would not squirt any blood if squashed under a shoe. Nope, Creed has to usher the wayward bug outside to live out its rightful years in suburban Plantation.

So although I was mum on the issue of circus animal abuse, Creed burst our emotional circus bubble as soon as he saw the animal that most closely resembles a dog (the tigers, which were AWESOME!).

Our conversation went something like this:

"He's whipping them!'' Creed whispered.

"All trainers use whips. He's not whipping them, it's just a loud sound the tigers are trained to respond to,'' I said.

"No, they're scared, you can tell,'' he insisted. "He whips them.''

"Creed, this man is in a cage with half a dozen tigers. He's brave. They could eat him alive. If they hated him, they would devour him right now. No tiny whip would deter them.''

"They're flinching. You can tell they hate him,'' he went on.

"They're having fun, Creed, just like dogs enjoy learning obeying their masters and learning how to 'sit' and other things that don't come naturally. They love doing this.''

"No, they don't. They're not wagging their tails.''

"You're such an animal rights activist,'' I said.

"You're such a human,'' he responded.

I didn't see any protesters. But a group called Animal Rights Florida has some horrific allegations about the mistreatment of circus elephants by this outfit.

Meanwhile, Lily, who is only in kindergarten, was in awe, and loved her $12 cotton candy.

> Please comment