Circuses

Our circus campaign forms the cornerstone of our campaigning work as the cruel use of animals in circuses was the very issue that prompted our founder, Irene Heaton, to establish CAPS back in 1957. It continues to be at the forefront of our campaigning and advocacy work today.

Campaign aim:

To see an end to the use of all animals in circuses.

Why we campaign:

CAPS maintains its position on the use of animals in circuses on the following grounds:

Ethics: We maintain that forcing any animal to perform for human entertainment is unethical and cannot be justified. Furthermore, we believe that the use of animals in circuses sends a damaging message to the general public, and particularly children and young people, by the implication that animals can be manipulated for our amusement despite the animal gaining no benefit from the practice. The practice implies that the animals’ own lives hold no inherent value in their own right; the use of circus animals therefore have negative educational impact.

Welfare: By virtue of the travelling nature of many circuses, the temporary accommodation for animals, the confined quarters, the training practices and the exposure of animals to unnatural situations during performances, we maintain that animal welfare cannot be guaranteed in circuses. In addition, some species of animal may have the added disadvantage of being kept in an unnatural climate, unnatural social groupings and be prevented from carrying out their natural behaviours as a direct result of being kept by a circus. This is particularly the case with wild, or non-native species of animal.

Our Successes

- Animal circus visitor numbers halved between 2007 and 2011

- Government states it will bring in a ban on the use of wild animals before next General Election

- CAPS congratulates Paulos Circus Americano for becoming an ‘all human extravaganza”

- 95% of DEFRA consultation respondents support a ban on the use of wild animals in 2010

- Animal circuses at an all time low in 2011

- Hundreds of local authorities exercising a ban on the use of public grounds for animal circuses

Next Steps

On the 1st March 2012 CAPS cautiously welcomed an announcement made in Parliament that the use of wild animals in circuses will be banned. The practice was described as “outdated” in an official Government statement. The Animal Welfare Minister, James Paice, said he hoped the ban would be in place before the next General Election in 2015 yet, in the meantime, the Government proposes to introduce a licensing system to regulate circuses.

CAPS believes this licensing regime will not work to protect the animals and will continue to work towards an outright ban to be brought in as soon as possible.

We believe that the circus is no place for any animal; wild or domesticated. We are concerned that, even if we are successful in helping to bring about a ban on the use of wild animals, this may encourage circuses to augment their use of domesticated animals and so will continue to campaign to see an end to the use of all animals in UK circuses.

Establishing the use of domestic animals on political and public agendas requires in-depth investigation to collate the evidence required to demonstrate our case.

What you can do to help right now…

Say NO to licensing, Say YES to a ban…

1) CAPS is asking supporters to contact their local MP and urge them to say no to licensing  back an outright ban.  Please click HERE to see our guide to letter writing.

2) Support our cause on Facebook and Twitter:

- Join us on Facebook for regular news updates HERE . You can add our new ‘Facebook Cover Photo’.

- Alternatively you can ‘tweet’ us on Twitter HERE and add our new ‘Time for a ban!’ circus campaign badge.

3) Donate! Please help us bring about a ban on  the use of wild animals by making a donation HERE.

4) Scottish supporters, please click HERE to learn more about what you can do to help bring about a ban in Scotland.

To learn more about getting involved in CAPS campaigns please click HERE and click NEWS to be updated on the most recent progress of this campaign.

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.