Great News for Animals: Wild-Animal Circuses Banned in Madrid
It’s a landmark moment for tigers, elephants, lions, and other animals: the ban on wild-animal circuses in Madrid comes into force this month!
Last year, the city council voted to ban the use of wild animals in circuses, recognising that these exhibits don’t meet “animals’ physiological, mental, and social needs” or respect their welfare.
Animals such as tigers, lions, and elephants will no longer be kept in cages or trailers, hauled from site to site, or forced to perform meaningless tricks to entertain circusgoers in the Spanish capital.
The city of Madrid joins nine Spanish regions, including Catalonia and Valencia, in banning wild-animal circuses.
Wild Animals Don’t Belong in Circuses
Forcing wild animals to perform confusing tricks is a barbaric practice that has no place in a compassionate society.
Wild animals used in travelling circuses are carted from one venue to another in cramped cages and barren trailers and are taught to perform tricks through the threat of punishment.
People around the world are recognising that wild-animal circuses are cruel, and many countries, including England, Ireland, and Scotland, have made these inhumane spectacles illegal.
What You Can Do for Animals
Even though major Spanish regions are phasing out wild-animal circuses, animals are still being exploited for entertainment in cruel bullfights across the country.
Every year, thousands of bulls endure a bloody death in bullrings across Spain. These deaths are slow and painful: men on horseback and on foot drive lances and barbed sticks into bulls’ backs before the tormented animals are stabbed with a sword or dagger.
It’s time for the Spanish government to step up and protect bulls. Please sign our petition to the Spanish prime minister calling for a national ban on bullfights and bull runs.
