Circuses

For up to date information on our campaign to end the use of animals in circuses, please see our News section

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

- 95% of the British public 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

In June 2011, following a debate in the House of Commons, MPs passed a unanimous motion calling for a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses. It was a short lived victory as only weeks later the Government announced that it intended to implement a strict licensing system in place of a ban. The decision has been met with outrage from the public, experts and ministers alike. We are continuing to challenge the decision and campaign for a ban. You can help by ordering some of our pre-written postcards calling on No10 to introduce a ban. Email our Campaigns Department with your address and the quantity of postcards you’d like. 

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.

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.