Scottish Parliament Motion Against Animal Circuses
June 2009

Christine Grahame, Scottish National Party MSP for South of Scotland has tabled a motion calling for a ban on using wild animals in circuses. The move comes after the Bobby Roberts Circus, along with its ailing elephant Anne, a camel, horses, ponies and dogs, started its tour of Scotland.

If you live in Scotland, please contact your MSP and ask her/him to sign Motion S3M-4336 Christine Grahame: No to Wild Animals in Circuses

If you do not know who your MSP is, click here

The full wording of Grahame’s motion is:

*S3M-4336 Christine Grahame: No to Wild Animals in Circuses -
That the Parliament regrets the plight of Anne, a 56-year-old elephant currently touring Scotland with a travelling circus despite being unable to perform tricks due to her advancing age and infirmity after decades in captivity; notes the recent publication of research in the scientific journal, Animal Welfare, that describes the unsuitability of wild animals such as elephants for circus life, which involves constant travelling and long spells in inadequate temporary housing; urges the Scottish Government to use its powers under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 to ban wild animal circuses in Scotland, as has already been done by Austria, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Israel and Singapore, with similar bans pending in Brazil, Bolivia and Peru, and, until such legislation is passed, calls on landlords such as local authorities and other landowners to refuse to let sites to circuses using wild animals for an outdated form of entertainment.

WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO

	If you want to get involved in protests outside animal circuses, contact CAPS
	Become a CAPS supporter - you can help to make a difference
	Write to your MP and ask that they support a total ban on all performing animals in circuses
	Write to your local newspaper highlighting what is wrong with circuses - use information from here.
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