My experience was 10 or 15 years before yours (I'm older), also as a little child. A lion put a paw in the bars and proceeded to spray a dozen people in the first rows.
So I didn't come back to "circus" until Cirque du Soleil came to Madrid. That's obviously another meaning of "circus".
Cirque du Soleil was designed as a circus without animals. Notwithstanding the points others have made about animal rights and such, it's pretty clear that they have flourished as Ringling has declined. At the end of the day, just because something has been around for a long time is not justification of its existence. All organizations need to adapt to changing circumstances.
So I didn't come back to "circus" until Cirque du Soleil came to Madrid. That's obviously another meaning of "circus".