Scotland Bans Wild-Animal Circuses

PETA commends Scotland for becoming the first country in the UK to ban wild-animal circuses.

A public consultation, which took place in 2015, found that an overwhelming 98 per cent of respondents supported a ban. Following this consultation, over 13,000 PETA supporters contacted the Scottish government, asking it to follow through by introducing the ban as soon as possible. On 5 October 2017, the bill passed the first stage of voting in the Scottish Parliament. In May 2017, Scotland became the first country in the UK to introduce legislation banning wild-animal circuses. And on 20 December 2017, members of the Scottish Parliament unanimously voted to pass the Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (Scotland) Bill.

Captivity is a living hell for animals such as tigers and lions, and a circus environment can’t possibly meet their complex needs. These animals understandably become frustrated, stressed, and depressed from a lifetime of being denied everything that’s natural and important to them, kept caged in trailers that are hauled around the country, and forced to perform confusing tricks under the big top for some Victorian-era sense of entertainment.

Let’s hope the progress in Holyrood serves to light a fire under the government in Westminster, which, despite years of promising to bring in such a ban, continues to sit back and do nothing as England falls further and further behind the growing number of countries putting a stop to these cruel exhibits. You can help by asking the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to end these cruel shows.

Ask Michael Gove to Ban Cruel Wild-Animal Circuses

Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals