Laws to stop tigers, camels, zebras and snakes being used as performing animals in circuses have been announced by the government.
The environment minister, Jim Paice, told MPs he hoped the laws would be brought in before the end of the parliament in 2015. Currently between 35 and 50 wild animals are thought to be used by circuses in England, where the laws would apply, and Defra offered to help find new homes for the retired performers.
"There is no place in today's society for wild animals being used for our entertainment in travelling circuses," said the animal welfare minister, Lord Taylor. "Wild animals deserve our respect."
The announcement follows a campaign by animal charities for the ban, which came to a head when video evidence emerged last year of acircus elephant being beaten by a worker. Campaigners were angry when Paice previously announced tougher licensing instead, arguing that a ban was not viable because of European regulations and an outstanding legal challenge to a similar law in Austria.
Circus Mondao, whose website shows zebra and camels, said it would probably challenge the proposed ban. The circus is a member of the European Circus Association, which previously challenged Austria's ban, saying there was no scientific evidence the animals were harmed or distressed by the travelling or conditions.
On its website, Mondao says that when it travels animals are the last to be loaded and the first to be unloaded; they are moved to tents within an hour of arriving, and are usually moved 20-50 miles. The circus says it employs seven government-registered animal handlers.
Animal charities welcomed the move, but called for ministers to speed up the laws, which Paice said he would be disappointed not to see before the general election.
Responding to the Defra consultation on licensing wild animals in circuses, Labour's shadow environment secretary, Mary Creagh, said: "Today, ministers [said] there is no room on the parliamentary timetable for new legislation. Yet only yesterday they introduced a water bill into the house which will be passed in two days.
There is nothing to stop them doing the same thing for circus animals, but it's clear that animal welfare is way down the list of this government's priorities."
Until the ban is in place, the government has introduced a tougher licensing regime for circuses keeping wild animals.
Asked why circuses would be banned from keeping wild animals but not domestic animals such as horses, a Defra spokesman said a key difference was that domesticated animals were more used to conditions such as travelling.
"Wild animals aren't domesticated: we feel it's not right ethically for wild animals to perform," he said.
A Defra spokesman said that a report for the Labour government in 2007 said that there were no grounds to ban wild animals performing in circuses under the Animal Welfare Act, because owners could show they were well cared for, so the government would draft new legislation on the grounds that they disagree with it "ethically". http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/01/laws-ban-wild-animals-circus
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