I, too, find myself steering away from performances done by what look like bored, unhappy, exhausted (and sometimes scared) animals. I much prefer that the performer entertaining me at the circus be doing so for a paycheck, not a punishment.

I am much more impressed by exciting and dynamic human performances than animals standing on their heads (are we REALLY supposed to believe that isn't painful for those huge animals?) or jumping through rings of fire (of which all animals are ingrained with a fear). 

Ringling and other circuses that still use animals should try to come up with something...