How do they train those circus animals that excited crowds at Mennen Arena in Morris Township?

Want to join the Circus?

Elephants and bears walking on two legs. Monkeys riding bicycles. Tigers jumping through flaming hoops.

Anyone who's ever tried to make Fido roll over must wonder... how do circus trainers teach wild animals to do all that fancy stuff?

The secret, according to member of the Shriners' Royal Hanneford Circus, which played over the weekend at Mennen Arena in Morris
Township, is patience, raw meat...and kindness.

"The way I train them is using little pieces of meat as I teach them a trick," said Adam Burck, a Richmond, IL, native who trains tigers. "As they learn the trick, I use less and less meat and then I take it away from them."

Animals have distinct personalities, of course, and some learn faster than others.

"It all depends on the animal," Burck said. "I've been training tigers for six years and learned from my father. My father was a tiger trainer for 35 years."

Shrine Circus owner Tommy Hanneford said animal training requires as much kindness as patience.

"The animals will respect you as long as you're kind to them," said the former circus performer from Germany. "You get back what you give them, which is kindness."

For the trainers, it's a 24-7 job, said Billy Martin, an Olean, NY, native who is the show's host.

While it's not unheard of for trainers to drug animals to prevent attacks, Burck said that's not the case at the Shrine Circus.

"Some people would use them, but we don't use any drugs," Burck said.

"I think Adam was mis-quoted in the above article, as I don't know of anyone who would use drugs in the training of animals. There was also a quote in a Polk County, Florida newspaper that said, "the USDA has broken the legs of elephants by putting chains on them to load them onto a truck during a confiscation. I should hope Willy Davenport could shed some light on when that incident happened."