Update 31st May 2011: Ten leading animal groups have today joined together to submit an open letter to the Prime Minister to make an urgent call for a U-turn on the failure to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. Click HERE to read the letter.

Update 27th May 2011: A parliamentary debate is planned for 9.30am on the 8th June on the subject of wild animals in circuses. It is not too late to write to the Prime Minister to demand action.

After weeks of debate, announcements regarding licensing rather than the overwhelmingly popular ban option from DEFRA and admissions of false statements and incorrrect sources, the Government has yet to give a convincing justification for their failure to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. We continue to put pressure on ministers to make the right decision and maintain that only a ban will truly protect animals from circus suffering. We need your help to achieve this.

We need to keep up the pressure and show the ministers responsible for the decision that a ban has full public support. We are asking supporters to write directly to Downing Street to demand that the Prime Minister move to ban as soon as possible.

To send by email, please fill in this online form. Please feel free to personalise the below template email.

Dear Prime Minister,

I am writing to urge you to introduce a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses. A recent Defra public consultation found that 94.5% of respondents supported a ban.

Major animal protection organisations, including the Captive Animals’ Protection Society, The Born Free Foundation and RSPCA also support a ban. So does the British Veterinary Association, which believes the needs of animals “could not be adequately met by the environmental conditions of a travelling circus”.

The justifications given by DEFRA ministers for the decision not to ban the use of wild animals in circuses are that a ban may breach EC legislation or the Human Rights Act. The EC have stated on various occasions that member states are best placed to legislate on animal welfare and a DEFRA report from 2009 confirms that there are no human rights implications if a ban is introduced. With these two concerns firmly answered, there is no obstacle to an immediate ban, which I urge you to implement without delay.

It is well recognised that the needs of wild animals cannot be met in a travelling circus and that this ban is the only way forward to protect these animals.

Sincerely,

The message is clear: It is time to ban the use of wild animals in circuses

Get involved – help us to campaign on animal circuses! Click HERE to find out how.

We commit to continue to campaign until animal circuses are a thing of the past. Please click HERE to join CAPS to support us in our work.