Hurrah! Government Finally Acts to Ban Wild Animals in Circuses!

At last – wild-animal circuses are to become a thing of the past in England! On Tuesday, a draft bill was tabled in Parliament to stop circuses using animals beginning in 2015 – a move that all British people can celebrate.

This means that, in this country, no more wild animals will be abused in the ring in the name of entertainment. No more elephants, camels or zebras will be denied everything that is natural and important to them, confined to cages or boxcars and dragged around the country and forced to perform demeaning and often painful tricks for human amusement.

This legislation has been a long time coming. David Cameron was instructed by Parliament to get wild animals out of circuses in 2011, but he dragged his heels in implementing the ban – despite overwhelming support for it among the British public. A 2011 Defra consultation saw 94 per cent of respondents, including the British Veterinary Association, backing an end to this archaic form of entertainment.

Today, though, the government seems finally to have listened and has decided to do the right thing for animals. Well done, and thank you to the thousands of you who wrote to David Cameron about the ban – your actions have paid off! It’s time for animal abusers to pack their bags and wave goodbye to wild-animal circuses for good – a huge step forward for animals and for a more compassionate Britain.