MPs debate animal welfare in circuses
On 23 January MPs debated the welfare of animals in circuses. Defra Minister Jonathan Shaw accepted that there was widespread concern about this issue. He stressed that the Government prioritised this issue, and had introduced the first piece of legislation in this area for 100 years.
He insisted that the duties imposed in the 2006 Act were placed on those training animals in circuses. He stressed that many in this industry had taken positive steps. However, he stated that the specific legislation for this area had been in place since 1925, and stressed that it needed to be repealed and replaced by regulation that was more effective.
The Minister stressed that there was a Defra review in place, which would involve vetinarians, zoo licensing inspectors and economists. He added that he would welcome contributions from members.
Opening the debate, Conservative MP Mark Pritchard stated that animals in British circuses were consistently being abused. He called for a ban on wild animals in circuses, and accused the Government of failing to take the action that was needed.
In November 2007 a government report based on the DEFRA Circus Working Group, found that there was insufficient scientific evidence to conclude that circuses could or could not meet the needs of animals and that any future bans would be a political, rather than scientific, decision. Animals Count believes that important scientific evidence was not taken into consideration in this report, e.g. the training of animals, which can be very cruel.
The Captive Animals Protection Society (CAPS) commented: The cruelty of transporting animals all over the country, training them to perform unnatural tricks, keeping them on lorries or chained up, is obvious. That’s why most people prefer to visit only all-human shows, the majority of UK circuses no longer use animals and over 200 councils have banned animal acts from their land."
27 January, 2008 
Austria: Ban on wild animals in circuses kept upheld
An
Austrian ban on the use of wild animals in circuses was under
threat by EU Commission infringement proceedings. Fortunately,
after a lot of international protests, the ban was kept upheld in
December 2006!
On 1st January 2005 a complete ban on the use of wild animals
in circuses entered into force in Austria. After complaints by
foreign circuses that they were not allowed to perform shows in
Austria anymore, the EU Commission threatened to lift the ban in
Austria in October 2005.
According to an EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, the ban
on wild animals was going too far to achieve the aim of animal
protection and unlawfully restricted the Freedom of Provision of
Services within the EU (which was set up, after all, to regulate
trade issues).
An international campaign was organised by Verein gegen Tierfabriken to lobby EU Commissioner McCreevy. In December 2006 the EU infringements were closed and the ban was upheld.
Verein gegen Tierfabriken mentioned two important spin-offs of
this outcome:
- Other European Countries, such as the Netherlands, Croatia and Hungary that are drafting legislation to ban wild animals in circuses will have more legal certainty: a complete ban would not violate EU Internal Market regulations
- An EU level ban on wild animals in circuses has come a step closer: as the case was closed by the EU, they have accepted that there is no less restrictive measure to reach the aim of animal protection.
In Britain there is no overall ban but in March 2006, Animal Welfare Minister Ben Bradshaw announced plans to ban certain wild animals from performing in travelling circuses.
Animals Count believes that performances with wild animals in static circuses and zoos should also be banned as the aim of entertainment should not outweigh the animal's right to integrity. Performances are simply not educational and training methods are often cruel.
November, 2006