Community | June 26, 2011 | 13 comments

Victory in the Campaign to Ban Circus Animals

source: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/victory-in-the-campaign-to-ban-circus-animal...

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EthicalVegan
The Independent | London...



Victory in the campaign to ban circus animals

Government concedes defeat after bribes and intimidation fail to deter rebels

By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

Friday, 24 June 2011


MPs of all parties unanimously backed a ban on circus animals



MPs voted to ban wild animals in circuses last night after David Cameron's attempts to bully Conservative backbenchers into voting against the measure backfired and ended in a humiliating public defeat. In a decision hailed by campaigners as an "historic victory for animal welfare and protection", MPs of all parties unanimously backed a ban and the Government signalled that it would introduce one, ending forever the days of lions, tigers, elephants and other wild animals in the big top.

In an act of desperation, Conservative whips had warned they would impose the most serious parliamentary voting sanction, a three-line whip, to bring recalcitrant backbenchers to heel and get them to support the Government's alternative proposal of a licensing system. But in a victory for The Independent's campaign for a ban and for the long campaigns waged by animal welfare organisations, Downing Street backed down when it became apparent that it would lose the vote despite what backbenchers described as "desperate" measures. One of the three MPs who brought the cross-party motion for a ban disclosed that he had first been offered a government job – and then threatened that the Prime Minister would look "very dimly" on his recalcitrance – unless he amended or withdrew the motion. Mark Pritchard, a Conservative backbencher, stood firm and insisted that the measure be voted upon.

As astonished MPs listened, Mr Pritchard said: "Well I have a message for the whips and for the Prime Minister of our country – and I didn't pick a fight with the Prime Minister – I may just be a little council house lad from a very poor background but that background gave me a backbone. It gives me a thick skin and I'm not going to be cowed by the whips of the Prime Minister on an issue I feel passionately about and have conviction about.


"There may be some other people with backbones on this side and they will speak later, but we need a generation of politicians with a bit of spine, not jelly. And I will not be bullied by any of the whips."

MPs from all sides of the House including the Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster, Labour's Nia Griffiths and the Green leader Caroline Lucas attacked the Government's position, saying that both public and parliamentary opinion was in support of a ban.

The motion was to "direct" the Government to introduce a ban.

Shortly before the vote, the Animal Welfare minister, Jim Paice, said: "If at the end of this debate the House were to approve this motion then of course we will have to respect that."

Animal welfare groups were ecstatic. The RSPCA said: "This is a win for democracy as well as animal welfare." It said it hoped the Government would quickly and formally announce a ban.

Animal Defenders International, the group which shot undercover footage of the beating by a Romanian groom of Anne the elephant at Bobby Roberts Circus, said: "This debate and vote has exposed the Government and demonstrated just how out of touch they have been with their peers, the public, and animal welfare groups."

Mary Creagh, the shadow Environment Secretary, said: "The public will be absolutely delighted that MPs from all parties have stood up to the Tory-led Government on this issue to achieve such a fantastic result. The vote brings to an end 48 hours of chaos and confusion from the Government about their position on a ban. It is extraordinary that David Cameron used such bully-boy tactics to threaten his own MPs and tried to impose a three-line whip on the vote."

The Government had initially planned to ban wild animals from circuses but the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was forced to do a U-turn, and instead proposed a licensing system, after Mr Cameron, a keen hunter and shooter, blocked the move.

Mr Paice blamed a court challenge to a ban in Austria for the decision, but there was no court challenge and he was forced to admit during an emergency debate, called because of the misinformation, that he had misled the Commons. The Government's subsequent claim that a ban could be challenged under the Human Rights Act or the EU Services Directive was challenged by lawyers and the European Commission.

The Government and MPs came under intense pressure from voters. More than 32,000 signed The Independent's online petition calling for the Government to change its mind, and supporters of the protest group 38 Degrees, which had forced Defra to abandon plans for its forests sell-off, deluged MPs' offices with hundreds of emails, letters and phone calls.

During the debate, MPs said the issue was emblematic of wider animal welfare issues. But the most astonishing contribution came from Mr Pritchard who had secured the backbench debate, which should have had a free vote. He said: "On Monday if I offered to amend my motion or drop my motion or not call a vote on this motion – and we're not talking about a major defence issue or an economic issue or an issue of public-sector reform, we're talking about a ban on wild animals in circuses – I was offered reward and incentive. If I didn't call for a ban – I was offered a job. Not as a minister, it was a pretty trivial job.

"Then it was ratcheted up to last night and I was threatened. I had a call from the Prime Minister's Office directly and I was told unless I withdrew this motion that the Prime Minister himself would look upon it 'very dimly indeed'."

He told MPs: "It remains a mystery why the Government has mounted such a concerted operation to stop there being a vote on this motion."
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13 comments // Victory in the Campaign to Ban Circus Animals

  • chipokae
    • 0
      chipokae  

    • I wish we would do this here.There was a circus that came to our small town that had an Elephant that was abused.I posted articles about the abuse and about the man who ran it and still idiots went and ignored the information"I was sickened" there are a few people I no longer speak to because of it.

    • 11 months ago
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • http://www.smh.com.au/environment/gold-coast-council-joins-circus-animal-ban-200...

      The Sydney Morning Herald...

      Gold Coast council joins circus animal ban
      Kate Dennehy

      Gold Coast City Council has banned the use of exotic animals for circuses on council land. A lion from Stardust Circus is seen in this file picture.

      Gold Coast City Council has banned the use of exotic animals for circuses on council land. A lion from Stardust Circus is seen in this file picture. Photo: Glen Watson

      The Gold Coast City Council has joined RSPCA Queensland's campaign to ban circuses using exotic animals from operating on council land.

      The Gold Coast joins the Ipswich City Council, which has also signed up.

      "This is terrific news and we applaud the council for its courage and foresight," the RSPCA's scientific research officer, Mandy Symons, said.
      Advertisement: Story continues below

      "We're hoping that other councils will follow in the footsteps of Ipswich and the Gold Coast."

      One council the group has not been able to convince is the Brisbane City Council, whose mayor, Campbell Newman, has refused to join.

      Dr Symons said the public, and children in particular, learnt nothing beneficial or positive about these animals by seeing them perform. "These animals should be moved to open-plan zoos where they are able to express normal behaviours."

      Annette Guice, the president of Animal Liberation Queensland, said the councils' decisions were part of a "firm push to set new benchmarks for animal welfare in Queensland".

      Ms Guice said circus animals were caged, forced to live in often cramped and unsuitable housing and hauled from town to town in a "beast wagon".

      Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/gold-coast-council-joins-circus-animal-ban-200...

    • 11 months ago
  • EthicalVegan
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    • EthicalVegan:

      http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/05/22/18247391.php

      We Are All Animals; Circus Gatti Comes to Watsonville to Benefit the Police

      Monday May 22nd, 2006 11:25 PM

      MJG Entertainment, Inc's Circus Gatti, based in Hemet, California, operates approximately 450 circuses in 150 towns each year. The performances include acrobats, jugglers, a high-wire act and captive wildlife such as horses, tigers and elephants which are trained to entertain young children and their adults. On May 20th and 21st, Circus Gatti brought their show to Watsonville in a benefit for the Watsonville Police. People concerned about the rights of the animals being exploited by Circus Gatti were at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds holding signs, passing out flyers in english and spanish and speaking with circus-goers about the sad life of circus animals.

      On May 21st, about a half dozen people concerned about animal rights decided to educate people attending the noon and 5:00pm circus held at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville. There were a few people who protested the circus on May 20th. Tigers, horses and elephants were being exploited for profit by Circus Gatti and the Watsonville Police.

      Activists were able to outreach to almost everyone in attendance. Most people were very receptive to learning about the lifestyles and living conditions of circus animals. Many people said they were sorry they decided to go to the circus, they would not have gone if they had known about the animals and that they would not return next year.

      A man who said his name was Yarrow Hoffman was furious with the people who were raising awareness about animals. Yarrow says that he owns the tigers and that the activists have no proof that his mistreats them. Yarrow was also angry at a female employee for the County Fairgrounds and demanded that she take action to remove the activists. She told Yarrow that the activists were not doing anything wrong and they were able to hold signs and pass out flyers as long they did not enter the gate after the ticket booth. Yarrow then pointed a couple of people holding a banner and insisted to the employee of the fairgrounds that, "these people are wanted by the FBI and they burn down buildings..."

      Yarrow then called the Santa Cruz County Sheriffs to complain about the activists. It did not take long for three police cars to come speeding to the scene. This happened during the 12:00pm circus performance after Yarrow and his tigers finished their act.

      Santa Cruz County Animal Services was called to inspect the conditions of the animals. An inspector named Todd showed up, did an inspection and found that none of the animals were sick, other than some broken toe nails. He said that it is the job of the USDA, not animal services, to determine in the cage is an adequate size for the animals. Although it was not his job, Todd said that he observed that the tigers were able to completely turn around and therefore the cages were adequate. He stressed that it was not his job to inspect the cages. A woman who requested that Animal Services do the inspection was not satisfied with Todd's findings and began requesting more information from him. She insisted that the tigers did not have room to fully stretch their bodies while inside the small transport cages in which they are held. With a smirk on his face, Todd drove away telling the woman to, "Say hi to Lisa Wathne." Lisa Wathne is an activist who works for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The activist was upset with Todd's remark about Lisa Wathne and insisted that she was not working for PETA.

      There were more people who showed up to see the 5:00pm performance. Since there were more people, the line to buy tickets was longer and this gave circus-goers more time to engage with the animal rights activists. Again, many people were upset when they began to think about how it must feel to be an animal forced to live in captivity and perform in a circus. A group of six people walked back to their car and decided to not support the circus even though they made plans to see it and were already at the fairgrounds.

    • 11 months ago
  • EthicalVegan
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    • http://nashveggie.com/blog/index.php/tag/animal-abuse/

      I Can Think Of A Few Things I’d Like To Do With That Pitchfork…
      March 28th, 2011

      …and the elephant is not involved.

      .

      Text from Animal Defenders:

      Animal Defenders International has released shocking footage from behind the scenes at the winter quarters of Bobby Roberts Super Circus, which graphically shows violence and confinement of circus animals.

      ADI secured footage over a three and a half week period from a camera observing activity in a barn where the animals are kept when not touring, which shows a staggeringly high level of violence and serious animal husbandry flaws. Incidents included Annie (Anne), an elderly, severely arthritic 57 year old elephant being hit with a metal pitchfork and kicked around the face and body 48 times over the period of observation by workers, who are also seen beating and spitting on a camel and beating miniature ponies and horses on numerous occasions.

      The disturbing footage also shows Annie constantly chained for the entire period of filming by her front and arthritic back leg with only enough room to take one step forward or backwards. Her chains were only changed to different legs twice, ADI believes this will clearly cause her pain and discomfort. It was noted that the feeding regime was poor.

      What makes this case all the more disturbing is that the circus proprietor Bobby Roberts, who has claimed publicly to take good care of Annie as ‘she is a family pet’ and ‘part of the family’, is clearly captured on camera kicking Annie on the trunk, an extremely sensitive part of an elephant’s anatomy, and this is done in front of a worker.

      As government prepares to make an announcement within the next few weeks regarding the fate of animal circuses in the UK and makes the decision to implement a total ban or self regulation, Animal Defenders International believes that this new evidence provides them with only one option – a total ban on the use of wild animals in circuses.

      Jan Creamer, ADI’s Chief Executive said: “Annie’s tragic story symbolizes the plight of circus animals and is a shocking indictment of the circus industry at a key time as government considers a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses. We have presented successive governments with extensive evidence from our undercover investigations over the years into UK circuses that proves conclusively that routine violence and deprivation is endemic within the industry.

      “To Lord Henley, the Minister responsible, we say enough is enough. It is now time for him to act decisively to stop this appalling suffering. It is time for him to enact a total ban once and for all.”

      Government’s own public consultation in March 2010 found that an overwhelming 94.5% of the public want to see a ban on wild animals in circuses and over 170 MPs have now signed Early Day Motion 403 calling on the Government to ban wild animal acts. A recent parliamentary poll conducted by ADI found that 63% of MPs would like to see a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses and only 14% disagreed.

      ADI has now exposed the shocking abuse of animals in UK circuses from several random undercover investigations over the last fifteen years. Only recently, in 2009, the beating of elephants at the Great British Circus was exposed and now in 2011 Bobby Roberts Super Circus shows that this is a way of life at the circus. A clear pattern has been proven and this time the government needs to act.

      Tim Phillips, ADI’s Campaigns Director said: “The release of this footage stops any attempt by UK government to ignore the will of the public. It is clear that self-regulation is not an option in this industry.

      “Once again, we have exposed that cruelty and deprivation is rife within the circus industry. We have also established that self regulation is not a viable option as the government would be asking circuses like Bobby Roberts or the Great British Circus to regulate themselves. That would be a farce, and the animals will continue to suffer abuse.”

      And to the circus industry, ADI says enough is enough.

      Jan said: “I have no doubt that it will be claimed that this is an ‘exception’ and/or that the owner was not aware of the abuse, but the evidence is now conclusive. Each time we expose the cruelty, the circuses give a similar range of excuses.

      “ADI has been concerned for Annie’s welfare for many years and have followed her tragic plight. Poor Annie has been with the circus for over 50 years since she was baby, having been caught in the wild and torn from her family. Elephants are social and extremely intelligent so this has been a living hell for her. At last we have managed to expose this circus operation for the cruel farce that it is and never again can Roberts preach about animal welfare and how well his animals are cared for.”

      Tim concluded: “Our latest investigation shows how animals like elephants suffer in the travelling circus. In the name of entertainment they are beaten, jabbed with hooks and hit with pitchforks, chained up for hours every day, and pushed into metal boxes each week where they remain for hours on end whilst the circus moves to another site. And when they are meant to be resting in their winter quarters the abuse and cruelty continues.

      “The public wants to see a ban, Parliament wants a ban, animal protection groups want a ban. A ban is the only way to put an end, once and for all, to this deplorable violence and deprivation, and government must act now.”
      The Bobby Roberts Super Circus began its UK tour on the 24 March. Potential visitors are being asked to vote with their feet and stay away.

      ADI is consulting with its lawyers to see what the potential is for legal action.

      Story & Video from Animal Defenders

    • 11 months ago
  • EthicalVegan
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    • http://www.starbreezes.com/11/circusabuse.html

      "Sink that hook into ‘em ... when you hear that screaming then you know you got their attention. … "-Elephant Trainer for a circus

      The above is an authentic quote from a circus elephant trainer caught on tape.

      Circuses are supposed to be for fun, children love them. But this “fun” is at a high price when there are animals involved.

      .

      The life of a circus animal

      Living conditions: Most animals used in the circus are meant to live in the wild. Instead of their natural habitats where they would roam free and live on their natural instincts, they are forced to live and travel in cramped quarters far smaller than their habitats in the wild. They are often forced to eat, sleep and even defecate in the same place. Circuses travel to many locations and water is limited in some locations, bathing and cleaning the animals living quarters is given low priority where water is limited. Unfortunately, this limitation extends to their drinking water as well.

      Elephants are kept with their feet chained down for long periods of time. Baby elephants are prematurely removed from their mothers for the purpose of early training. They are tied with ropes, which leads to rope burn. Many circuses give no consideration to climate and the animals are exposed to extreme heat or cold. In addition, their diets do not consist of what they would naturally and they are sometimes underfed in the interest of getting an ideal performance. Disease is common among circus animals. Veterinarians qualified to treat exotic animals are not always present and circus animals frequently suffer inadequate veterinary care.

      Training: Ever wonder how circuses manage to get the animals to perform so well? Animals do not perform the acts you see in the circus naturally. They have to be trained, often by extreme methods. They are traumatized in to obeying their human ‘trainers” commands. Bull hooks are often driven in to the tender areas of an elephant’s body to make it cooperate. Electric shock, whips, baseball bats and pipes are also among the methods used to force the animals to cooperate in training. Some animals are kept muzzled to subdue them and discourage them from defending themselves if they feel threatened. Some animals are drugged to make them manageable and some have their teeth removed. Some bears have had their paws burned to force them to stand on their hind legs.

      Mental distress: the combination of the above circumstances and other factors lead to mental distress in circus animals. There have been many cases of animals attacking humans and escaping.

      Since 1990, attacks by captive big cats have resulted in 46 humans deaths and the killing of 70 big cats

      Since 1990, 13 humans have been killed by captive bears. 8 of them were children. Attacks have also resulted in 26 bears being killed

      Since 1990, attacks by captive primates have resulted in 2 humans deaths, 130 human injuries, and the killing of 450 primates.

      Since 1990, 57 people have been killed by captive elephants.120 people were injured.

      When you think about how they are treated, can you blame them for attacking? What must they think of humans? They don’t ask for the miserable lifestyle circus performance subjects them to

      “Retirement” for circus animals: As with many other forms of animal “entertainment”, once the animal can no longer perform, it is not much value to the circus. They may be permanently caged, sold to a game farm to be hunted, or sold to a lab.

      What you can do

      DON’T visit circuses that have animals. There are a number of cruelty free circuses that only display human acts. For a list of cruelty free circuses, please visit Circuses that do not use animal acts.

      Lawfully protest circuses that contain animal acts. Educate potential visitors about what really goes on in some circuses. Urge local animal control and the humane society to carefully monitor the care and treatment of animals when a circus with animals comes to your area.

      Urge lawmakers to ban animal entertainment acts and show your support for those that do.

      For more information on circus animal abuse and what you can do to stop it, please see the links below

      Circus Watch Abusive animal "trainers". caught on tape.
      Circuses.com Detailed site on circus animal abuse
      Animals in Entertainment PETA's Animals in Entertainment Fact sheet.

      [To see and use these links, click on the link at the top of this article.]

    • 11 months ago
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