Who are you trying to kid?

For four weeks every year the grand Sechseläuten Square in Zürich is given over to a circus. Knie, one of Europe’s oldest circuses, draws 2,000 onlookers a day; inside the giant tent, the crowd applauds and murmurs enthusiastically when, accompanied by the tinkling of bells, 12 goats spring into the arena to pirouette and climb up onto the podium at the command of director Franco Knie Jr, his wife Linna and their young son Chris Rui.

The circus only bought these animals this past year. They have a pair from five different species: West African…