Louis Walsh: It’s a NO to Wild-Animal Circuses

X-Factor‘s Louis Walsh is back! And he’s giving a firm “no” to cruel, archaic animal acts.

Hot on the heels of his announced return as an X-Factor judge, Walsh sent an urgent letter to Michael Creed, Ireland’s new Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, calling for a ban on wild-animal circuses.

In the letter on behalf of PETA and Irish group Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN), Walsh notes that, unlike the willing humans he’s worked with throughout his career, animals used in circuses don’t choose to perform – they do so out of the threat of punishment:

They [animals exploited in circuses] don’t stand on their heads, ride bicycles or perform other demeaning, often painful tricks willingly. They do so because if they don’t, they will be whipped, beaten with a steel-tipped bullhook or shocked with an electric prod.

He also adds that by allowing this archaic form of entertainment to continue, Ireland is essentially “putting out a welcome mat for animal abusers”. By contrast, more and more European countries are introducing bans on wild-animal circuses.

Elephants, tigers, and other wild animals used in circuses in Ireland are often torn away from their mothers as babies; cannot engage in natural behaviour; are moved around in cramped, filthy conditions; are chained or caged for up to 23 hours a day; commonly suffer from chronic health problems, abusive treatment and psychological disorders; and often die prematurely.

If you live in Ireland, please contact your local TD and ask him or her to do everything possible to bring about a ban on wild-animal circuses. You can find contact details for your elected representatives here.