Bans on circus animals

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.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}body.skin-vector-2022 .mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:27em}body.skin-vector-2022 .mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:22.5em}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=upper-alpha]{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=upper-roman]{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=lower-alpha]{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=lower-greek]{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=lower-roman]{list-style-type:lower-roman}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-upper-alpha .references{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-upper-roman .references{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-lower-alpha .references{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-lower-greek .references{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-lower-roman .references{list-style-type:lower-roman} | certain animals are excluded or the laws vary internally World circus bans.svg
Worldwide laws on animal use in circuses
   Nationwide ban
   Partial ban
   Ban on import/export
   No ban
   Unknown
  1. ↑ certain animals are excluded or the laws vary internally
Tigers in a transport cage in a travelling circus Donghai Island - P1570707 - Dongshan Town - circus.JPG
Tigers in a transport cage in a travelling circus

Many countries [a] have implemented nationwide bans on using some if not all animals in circuses. [2] [3] [4] Other countries [b] have locally restricted or banned the use of animals in entertainment. [3] In response to a growing popular concern about the use of animals in entertainment, animal-free circuses are becoming more common around the world. [5]

Contents

Despite the contemporary circus's shift toward more theatrical techniques and its emphasis on human rather than animal performance, traditional circus companies still exist alongside the new movement. Many continue to maintain animal performers, such as UniverSoul Circus and the Big Apple Circus from the United States, Circus Krone from Munich, Circus Royale and Lennon Bros Circus from Australia, Vazquez Hermanos Circus, Circo Atayde Hermanos, and Hermanos Mayaror Circus [6] from Mexico, and Moira Orfei Circus [7] from Italy.

Background

Circus baby elephant training Circus baby elephant training.jpg
Circus baby elephant training

On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands, Wageningen University conducted an investigation into the welfare of circus animals in 2008. [8] The following issues, among others, were found:

Based on these findings, the researchers called for more stringent regulation regarding the welfare of circus animals.

A 2009 survey confirmed that on average, wild animals spend around 99 to 91 percent of their time in cages, wagons, or enclosure due to transportation. This causes a huge amount of distress to animals and leads to excessive amounts of drooling. [9] [10]

On 6 June 2015, the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe adopted a position paper in which it recommends the prohibition of the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. [11] [12]

Animal rights groups have documented many cases of animal cruelty in the training of performing circus animals. [13] [14] The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) contends that animals in circuses are frequently beaten into submission and that physical abuse has always been the method for training circus animals. PETA also alleges that the animals are kept in cages that are too small and are given very little opportunity to walk around outside of their enclosure, thereby violating their right to freedom.

United States

During a Circus International performance in Honolulu, Hawaii, on 20 August 1994, an elephant called Tyke (1974 – 20 August 1994) killed her trainer, Allen Campbell, and severely mauled her groomer, Dallas Beckwith, in front of hundreds of spectators. She then escaped the arena and ran through the streets of Kakaʻako for more than thirty minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke, who eventually collapsed from the wounds and died. [15] Tyke posthumously became a symbol of circus tragedies and of animal rights. [16] Lawsuits were filed against the City of Honolulu, the State of Hawaii, Circus International, Tyke's owner John Cuneo Jr. and Cuneo's company, Hawthorn Corporation. [17] The incident inspired legislation on local levels in Hawaii and abroad. California Congressman Sam Farr introduced legislation [c] into the House of Representatives in 1999 and again in 2012. [18]

According to PETA, although the US Animal Welfare Act does not permit any sort of punishment that puts the animals in discomfort, [19] trainers will still go against this law and use such things as electric rods and bullhooks. [20] According to PETA, during an undercover investigation of Carson & Barnes Circus, video footage was captured showing animal care director Tim Frisco training endangered Asian elephants with electrical shock prods and instructing other trainers to "beat the elephants with a bullhook as hard as they can and sink the sharp metal hook into the elephant's flesh and twist it until they scream in pain". [20]

In testimony in U.S. District Court in 2009, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus CEO Kenneth Feld acknowledged that circus elephants are struck behind the ears, under the chin and on their legs with metal tipped prods, called bullhooks. Feld stated that these practices are necessary to protect circus workers. Feld also acknowledged that an elephant trainer was reprimanded for using an electric shock device, known as a hot shot or electric prod, on an elephant, which Feld also stated was appropriate practice. Feld denied that any of these practices harm elephants. [21] In its January 2010 verdict on the case, brought against Feld Entertainment International by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals et al., the Court ruled that evidence against the circus company was "not credible with regard to the allegations". [22] In lieu of a USDA hearing, Feld Entertainment, Inc. (parent of Ringling Bros.) agreed to pay an unprecedented US$270,000 fine for violations of the Animal Welfare Act that allegedly occurred between June 2007 and August 2011. [23]

A 14-year litigation against the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to an end in 2014 when The Humane Society of the United States and a number of other animal rights groups paid a $16 million settlement to Feld Entertainment. The circus discontinued its elephant act in May 2016 and sent its pachyderms to a reserve. Ticket sales declined steeply, and the circus closed in May 2017 after a 146-year run. [24] [25] [26]

City ordinances banning performances by wild animals have been enacted in San Francisco (2015), [27] Los Angeles (2017), [28] and New York City (2017). [29]

In December 2018, New Jersey became the first state in the U.S. to ban circuses, carnivals and fairs from featuring elephants, tigers, and other exotic animals. [30]

United Kingdom

In 1998 in the United Kingdom, a parliamentary working group chaired by MP Roger Gale studied living conditions and treatment of animals in UK circuses. All members of this group agreed that a change in the law was needed to protect circus animals. Gale told the BBC, "It's undignified and the conditions under which they are kept are woefully inadequate—the cages are too small, the environments they live in are not suitable and many of us believe the time has come for that practice to end." The group reported concerns about boredom and stress, and noted that an independent study by a member of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University "found no evidence that circuses contribute to education or conservation".

In 2007, a different working group under the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs reached a different conclusion after reviewing information from experts representing both the circus industry and animal welfare. That group found an absence of "scientific evidence sufficient to demonstrate that travelling circuses are not compatible with meeting the welfare needs of any type of non-domesticated animal presently being used in the United Kingdom". [31] According to a report they published in October 2007, "there appears to be little evidence to demonstrate that the welfare of animals kept in travelling circuses is any better or any worse than that of animals kept in other captive environments". [32]

A ban prohibiting the use of wild animals in circuses in England was due to be passed in 2015, but Conservative MP Christopher Chope repeatedly blocked the bill under the reasoning that "The EU Membership Costs and Benefits bill should have been called by the clerk before the circuses bill, so I raised a point of order". He explained that the circus bill was "at the bottom of the list" for discussion. [33] The Animal Defenders International non-profit group dubbed this "a huge embarrassment for Britain that 30 other nations have taken action before us on this simple and popular measure". [34]

On 1 May 2019 Environmental Secretary Michael Gove announced a new Bill to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. [35] The Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2019 came into effect on 20 January 2020. [36]

Wales

A bill to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in Wales was introduced in June 2019, and the Wild Animals and Circuses (Wales) Act 2020 was subsequently passed by the Welsh Parliament on 15 July 2020. [37] The people of Wales made over 6,500 responses to the public consultation on the draft Bill, 97% of which supported the ban.

Scotland

The use of wild animals in travelling circuses has been banned in Scotland. The Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (Scotland) Act 2018 came into force on 28 May 2018.

Turkey

In July 2021, Turkey banned the opening of circuses which use animals. [38] Existing facilities will cease operations in ten years. [39]

Panama

Law 308 on the Protection of Animals was approved by the National Assembly of Panama on 15 March 2012. Article 7 of the law states: 'Dog fights, animal races, bullfights – whether of the Spanish or Portuguese style – the breeding, entry, permanence and operation in the national territory of all kinds of circus or circus show that uses trained animals of any species, are prohibited.' Horse racing and cockfighting were exempt from the ban. [40]

Mexico

Elephant act at a 2009 circus in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico Elephant3AtaydeFeria09.JPG
Elephant act at a 2009 circus in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico

In December 2014, as a response to reports of animal mistreatment, the Mexican Congress passed a law banning the use of animals in any circus in the country. [41] The law set fines for violations and required circuses to submit lists of the wildlife they possessed, which would then be made available to zoos interested in taking the animals. [41]

Honduras

On November 12, 2015, the Honduran National Congress approved the Animal Welfare Act which banned the use of all animals in circuses. [42]

European Union

Greece became the first European country to ban any animal from performing in any circus in its territory in February 2012, following a campaign by Animal Defenders International and the Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF). [43] Later that year, the Dutch government announced a ban on the use of wild circus animals. [44]

In 2018 in Germany, an accident with an elephant during a circus performance prompted calls to ban animal performances in circuses. PETA called the German politicians to outlaw the keeping of animals for circuses. [45]

On 29 September 2020, Environment Minister Barbara Pompili announced a ban on wild animals in circuses. [46]

Bolivia

In 2009, Bolivia passed legislation banning the use of any animals, wild or domestic, in circuses. The law states that circuses "constitute an act of cruelty." Circus operators had one year from the bill's passage on 1 July 2009 to comply. [47]

Notes

  1. ↑ Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey
  2. ↑ Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States
  3. ↑ HR2323

References

  1. ↑ "Circus bans". Stop Circus Suffering. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  2. ↑ "Leġiżlazzjoni Malta".
  3. 1 2 "Worldwide circus bans". Animal Defenders International. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "Turkish parliament approves animal rights bill". Anadolu Agency. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  5. ↑ "Elephant Rampages" (PDF). Circuses.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  6. ↑ Duckman, Hank (1 January 2006). "Hermanos Mayar Circus by Hank Duckman". Mexconnect.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  7. ↑ "Moira Orfei Circo official website". Moiranonsolocirco.it. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  8. ↑ "19 february 2008 – Projectvoorstel Ministerie LNV onderzoek welzijn circusdieren" (PDF). 19 February 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Coghlan, Andy (20 May 2009). "Circus captivity is beastly for wild animals". New Scientist. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  10. ↑ Iossa, G; Soulsbury, CD; Harris, Stephen (2009). "Are Wild Animals Suited to a Travelling Circus Life?". Animal Welfare. 18 (2): 129–140. doi:10.1017/S0962728600000270.
  11. ↑ "FVE position on the use of animals in travelling circuses" (PDF). Federation of Veterinarians of Europe. FVE/013/pos/007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
  12. ↑ Winter, Stuart (5 August 2015). "Vets call for complete ban on wild animal acts in circuses across Europe". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Circus Incidents: Attacks, Abuse and Property Damage" (PDF). Humane Society of the United States. 1 June 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  14. ↑ "Circuses". PETA.org. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  15. ↑ "Hawthorn Corporation". Circuses.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2004.
  16. ↑ Bernardo, Rosemarie (16 August 2004). "Shots killing elephant echo across a decade". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  17. ↑ Hoover, Will (20 August 2004). "Slain elephant left tenuous legacy in animal rights". The Honolulu Advertiser . Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  18. ↑ Strand, Patti (9 January 2012). "Congress Considers Ban on Performing Elephants". National Animal Interest Alliance . Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations". Nal.usda.gov. Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  20. 1 2 "Circuses: Three Rings of Abuse". Peta.org. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  21. ↑ Pickler, N. (4 March 2009). "Circus CEO says elephants are struck, but not hurt". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013.
  22. ↑ Court Record, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Civil Action No 03-2006 (EGS)
  23. ↑ Remizowski, Leigh (29 November 2011). "USDA Fines Ringling Bros. Circus Over Treatment of Animals". CNN . Archived from the original on 1 December 2011.
  24. ↑ Heath, Thomas (16 May 2014). "Ringling Circus prevails in 14-year legal case; collects $16M from Humane Society, others". The Washington Post . Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  25. ↑ Wang, Amy B (15 January 2017). "Animal activists finally have something to applaud at Ringling Bros. circus: Its closure". The Washington Post . Retrieved 12 June 2017. In 2015, Ringling Bros. announced it would stop using elephants in its shows. The lumbering mammals delivered their final performances last May — dancing, spinning and standing on pedestals at the command of the ringmaster — and then were retired to a reserve in central Florida. The move exacerbated the show's demise; the elephants' departure ultimately expedited what was a 'difficult business decision'. 'Ringling Bros. ticket sales have been declining, but following the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop', Kenneth Feld said in a statement Saturday. 'This, coupled with high operating costs, made the circus an unsustainable business for the company.'
  26. ↑ Brulliard, Karin (21 May 2017). "Thunderous applause, tears as the 'greatest show on Earth' takes a final bow". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 June 2017. ... Ringling had become the target of animal protection groups that claimed it mistreated its elephants, and the two sides soon locked in a 14-year legal battle so cutthroat it involved secret informants paid by animal groups and a former CIA official who was paid by Ringling's parent company, Feld Entertainment, to spy on activists and a journalist. The litigation ended with several animal groups paying a $16 million settlement to Feld. While the animal activists never prevailed against Ringling in court, they were victorious outside. The allegations of elephant abuse prompted municipalities around the country to ban elephant bullhooks — a sharp metal tool used by handlers — or to prohibit wild animal performances altogether, as Los Angeles recently moved to do. After Ringling retired its last pachyderms to a company-owned elephant conservation center in Florida, ticket sales declined much more than Feld expected, and the company announced in January that Ringling would close for good.
  27. ↑ Berg, Emmett (21 April 2015). "San Francisco board approves wild animal performance ban". Reuters . Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  28. ↑ Good, Kate (26 April 2017). "Los Angeles Bans Use of Wild Animals for Entertainment". One Green Planet. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  29. ↑ Pacelle, Wayne (21 June 2017). "New York City bans use of wild animals in circuses" . Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  30. ↑ Megan Burrow, "New Jersey becomes first state to ban wild animal circus acts", North Jersey Record , 15 December 2018.
  31. ↑ "UK Politics Protect circus animals call". BBC News. 26 October 1998. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  32. ↑ "Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses: The Report of the Chairman of the Circus Working Group". UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. October 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  33. ↑ "Anger after bill to ban wild animals in circuses is blocked by MP Chris Chope". Bournemouth Echo. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  34. ↑ "Cameron urged to keep circus ban promise as Conservative MP blocks bill for eighth time". Animal Defenders International . Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  35. ↑ "Gove delivers legislation to ban wild animals in circuses". UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  36. ↑ "4 – Extent, commencement and short title". Legislation.gov.uk . Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  37. ↑ "Use of wild animals in circuses to be banned in Wales after Bill passed". Welsh Government. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  38. ↑ "Turkish parliament approves animal rights bill". Anadolu Agency. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  39. ↑ "Hayvanları Koruma Kanunu" (in Turkish). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  40. ↑ "Panamá prohíbe las corridas de toros" (in Spanish). Anima Naturalis. 15 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  41. 1 2 "Wild things: Mexico struggles to find new homes for outlawed circus animals". Fox News Latino. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  42. ↑ "Honduras Bans Use Of Animals In Circuses And Dog Fighting". 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024.
  43. ↑ Greece bans animal circuses, Animal Defenders International
  44. ↑ "Dutch government announces ban on the use of wild animals in circuses". 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  45. ↑ "Circus elephant falls into audience in Germany". The Independent. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  46. ↑ "France to ban use of wild animals in circuses". Reuters. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  47. ↑ "Bolivia bans use of animals in circuses". Associated Press. 31 July 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2009.[ dead link ]
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