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News & Reports animal welfare
Government to ban the use of all wild animals in circuses THE Government has rejected a recommendation that it should introduce a limited list of animal species that cannot be used in travelling circuses, opting instead for an outright ban covering all wild animals. The recommendation for a list of proscribed animals was made earlier this year by the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRACom) following its prelegislative scrutiny of the draft Wild Animals in Circuses Bill (VR, July 20, 2013, vol 173, pp 59-60). The draft Bill proposes introducing a ban on the use of all wild animals. The Government’s response to the committee’s report was published on October 22. In it, the Government says
it cannot agree with the committee’s recommendation to ban only the use of big cat species and elephants initially, but not snakes, camels, zebras or raccoons. The committee suggested that the Secretary of State should have the power to amend the list in future through the introduction of secondary legislation. The Government says that, during a debate in the House of Commons in June 2011, it was clear that MPs wanted a ban on the use of all wild animals in circuses. ‘From subsequent debates, parliamentary questions and correspondence from Members, we have no reason to believe that Parliament has changed its view on this matter,’ it says. ‘The arguments that the Government has
put forward in support of the proposed ban do not appear to lead to the conclusion that it is still acceptable to still use some species of wild animal but not others. The issue that the Government has been asked to address is not the number of wild animals used in travelling circuses, nor their species, but the fact that they are used at all.’ It says that the use of secondary legislation to amend any list of proscribed species would be ‘a reactive measure, possibly requiring the government of the day to introduce new regulations every touring season as circuses introduced new wild animals not already covered in the prohibited list’. This, it says, would be potentially burdensome on Defra, Parliament and the taxpayer, and would not provide any longterm clarity for circuses, which might go to great expense training up a new animal only to find that the Government subsequently prohibits that species. The EFRACom also recommended that any ban should apply to the whole of the UK. In its response, the Government says that the Scottish Government expects to consult shortly on the issue of a ban and that, pending the outcome, it would hope to work with Defra to produce a single piece of legislation covering Scotland and England. The Welsh Government has already confirmed that it wants to work with Defra to produce a Bill that applies to England and Wales. Also, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland has announced that it will be working with counterparts in the Republic of Ireland to consider the issue of wild animals in travelling circuses on an all-island basis. At the time its report was published, the EFRACom was criticised for its proposal by the BVA and a number of other organisations. Last week, in a joint statement, the BVA, the Born Free Foundation, the Captive Animals’ Protection Society and the RSPCA welcomed the Government’s confirmation that it would press ahead with a ban on the use of all wild animals in circuses in England by the end of 2015. ‘We are relieved to hear that the Government has firmly rejected the opinion of the EFRA Committee on this matter, and that circuses will be prevented from using wild animals in performances from the end of 2015,’ the organisations said. ‘The decision reflects the strong public and Parliamentary will on this issue; a travelling circus is no place for any wild animal.’ doi: 10.1136/vr.f6520
414 | Veterinary Record | November 2, 2013
414-415 News part 3.indd 414
30/10/2013 12:23
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 29, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Government to ban the use of all wild animals in circuses Veterinary Record 2013 173: 414-415
doi: 10.1136/vr.f6520 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/173/17/414
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To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
News & Reports animal welfare
Government to ban the use of all wild animals in circuses THE Government has rejected a recommendation that it should introduce a limited list of animal species that cannot be used in travelling circuses, opting instead for an outright ban covering all wild animals. The recommendation for a list of proscribed animals was made earlier this year by the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRACom) following its prelegislative scrutiny of the draft Wild Animals in Circuses Bill (VR, July 20, 2013, vol 173, pp 59-60). The draft Bill proposes introducing a ban on the use of all wild animals. The Government’s response to the committee’s report was published on October 22. In it, the Government says
it cannot agree with the committee’s recommendation to ban only the use of big cat species and elephants initially, but not snakes, camels, zebras or raccoons. The committee suggested that the Secretary of State should have the power to amend the list in future through the introduction of secondary legislation. The Government says that, during a debate in the House of Commons in June 2011, it was clear that MPs wanted a ban on the use of all wild animals in circuses. ‘From subsequent debates, parliamentary questions and correspondence from Members, we have no reason to believe that Parliament has changed its view on this matter,’ it says. ‘The arguments that the Government has
put forward in support of the proposed ban do not appear to lead to the conclusion that it is still acceptable to still use some species of wild animal but not others. The issue that the Government has been asked to address is not the number of wild animals used in travelling circuses, nor their species, but the fact that they are used at all.’ It says that the use of secondary legislation to amend any list of proscribed species would be ‘a reactive measure, possibly requiring the government of the day to introduce new regulations every touring season as circuses introduced new wild animals not already covered in the prohibited list’. This, it says, would be potentially burdensome on Defra, Parliament and the taxpayer, and would not provide any longterm clarity for circuses, which might go to great expense training up a new animal only to find that the Government subsequently prohibits that species. The EFRACom also recommended that any ban should apply to the whole of the UK. In its response, the Government says that the Scottish Government expects to consult shortly on the issue of a ban and that, pending the outcome, it would hope to work with Defra to produce a single piece of legislation covering Scotland and England. The Welsh Government has already confirmed that it wants to work with Defra to produce a Bill that applies to England and Wales. Also, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland has announced that it will be working with counterparts in the Republic of Ireland to consider the issue of wild animals in travelling circuses on an all-island basis. At the time its report was published, the EFRACom was criticised for its proposal by the BVA and a number of other organisations. Last week, in a joint statement, the BVA, the Born Free Foundation, the Captive Animals’ Protection Society and the RSPCA welcomed the Government’s confirmation that it would press ahead with a ban on the use of all wild animals in circuses in England by the end of 2015. ‘We are relieved to hear that the Government has firmly rejected the opinion of the EFRA Committee on this matter, and that circuses will be prevented from using wild animals in performances from the end of 2015,’ the organisations said. ‘The decision reflects the strong public and Parliamentary will on this issue; a travelling circus is no place for any wild animal.’ doi: 10.1136/vr.f6520
414 | Veterinary Record | November 2, 2013
414-415 News part 3.indd 414
30/10/2013 12:23
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 29, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Government to ban the use of all wild animals in circuses Veterinary Record 2013 173: 414-415
doi: 10.1136/vr.f6520 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/173/17/414
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
