What are your thoughts on Viola the Elephant and the Circus in Butte?

Tuesday the Jordan World Circus makes its' return to the Mining City almost two years to the day that Viola the Elephant escaped from her enclosure and took off down Harrison Avenue.

While this provided headlines and fodder for news outlets and social media across the country, it does raise questions about the ethics of using animals for entertainment and the methods by which the animals are trained.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals say that animals should simply never be used for entertainment but they also say that pain is the primary motivating factor in training and controlling the gigantic animals.  PETA says that Viola, now 56 years of age, has been subject to a lifetime of physical and emotional cruelty and had attempted three previous escapes prior to her attempt here in Butte.

PETA plans on protesting the circus Tuesday afternoon and evening and they plan on bringing signs and a 20-foot-tall inflatable elephant to further emphasize their point.

What is your stance on this?  Do you believe that animals should never be used for entertainment?  This would be quite a stance as we are firmly in the heart of rodeo country and Montana traditions that go back for generations.  Does this apply to wild animals only?

What do you think about the Jordan World Circus and their return to the Mining City with Viola in tow?  Should Viola be set free and if so, to where?  And what about the other animals that are on tour with the circus?

In any case, it will be interesting to see what takes place tomorrow at the Butte Civic Center.