Bans on circus animals

On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands, Wageningen University conducted an investigation into the welfare of circus animals in 2008. The following issues, among others, were found: • 71% of the observed animals had medical problems. • 33% of tigers and lions did not have access to an outdoor enclosure. • Lions spend on average 98% of their time indoors. • An average enclosure for tigers is only 5 m2. • Elephants are shackled in chains for 17 hours a day on average. • Elephants spend on average 10 hours a day showing stereotypic behaviour. • Tigers are terrified of fire but are still forced to jump through fire rings. • Since 1990 there have been over 123 cases of lion attacks at circuses. • Animals are trained through discipline. Based on these findings, the researchers called for more stringent regulation regarding the welfare of circus animals. A 2009 survey confirmed that on average, wild animals spend around 99 to 91 percent of their time in cages, wagons, or enclosure due to transportation. This causes a huge amount of distress to animals and leads to excessive amounts of drooling. On 6 June 2015, the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe adopted a position paper in which it recommends the prohibition of the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. Animal rights groups have documented many cases of animal cruelty in the training of performing circus animals. The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) contends that animals in circuses are frequently beaten into submission and that physical abuse has always been the method for training circus animals. PETA also alleges that the animals are kept in cages that are too small and are given very little opportunity to walk around outside of their enclosure, thereby violating their right to freedom. Animal trainers have argued that some criticism is not based on fact, including beliefs that shouting makes the animals believe the trainer is going to hurt them, that caging is cruel and common, and that the use of whips, chains or training harms animals. == Asia ==

, China, 2018) India The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 is the basis of all modern animal welfare and rights in India. Section 22 of the Act prohibits the exhibition or training of any performing animal by any person, unless the person is properly registered and the Central Government has specifically excluded the animal in question from the prohibition in the The Gazette of India. The Supreme Court of India confirmed in Centre for Environment Law, WWF-I v. Union of India (2013) that the 1972 Act meant that no state organisation or person can claim ownership or possession over wild animals in the forest; rather, animals in the wild are "properties of the nation", which the state is required to protect. After several challenges and clarifications in 1991–2001, dogs were excluded from the ban, but lions were added to it. Existing facilities will cease operations in ten years. == Europe ==

As of 2026, the use of animals in circuses has been partially or entirely banned in all member states of the European Union. Most restrictions involve wild animals or wilde mammals, but leave open any other species. Austria, Croatia and the European Union When Austria adopted a nationalwide total ban on the keeping of wild animals in circuses, effective 1 January 2005, a circus association lodged a complaint at the European Commission, citing the "free movement of services". Dutch Agriculture Minister Gerda Verburg rejected the idea of a national ban (following Austria and Croatia's example), but offered to explore the option of an EU-wide ban instead. Greece Greece became the first European country to ban any animal from performing in any circus in its territory in February 2012, following a campaign by Animal Defenders International and the Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF). Later that year, the Dutch government announced a ban on the use of wild circus animals. Germany In 2018 in Germany, an accident with an elephant during a circus performance prompted calls to ban animal performances in circuses. PETA called the German politicians to outlaw the keeping of animals for circuses. As of 2019, Germany was the only EU member state which had not imposed a national ban or restriction on the use of (wild) animals in circuses. The Bundestag voted against such a ban on 24 October 2019. In August 2020, Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner announced she was working on a bill to ban certain species (such as giraffes, hippos, and rhinoceroses) from circuses. France On 29 September 2020, the Environment Minister of France, Barbara Pompili, announced a ban on wild animals in circuses. Netherlands On 15 September 2015, the Government of the Netherlands banned the use of wild mammals in circuses, such as lions, tigers and elephants. This also meant that transporting wild mammals for this purpose was henceforth prohibited. However, the city of Almere in 2025 decided to prohibit any and all circuses featuring animals, citing both arguments for animal welfare and human public health. According to a report they published in October 2007, "there appears to be little evidence to demonstrate that the welfare of animals kept in travelling circuses is any better or any worse than that of animals kept in other captive environments". A ban prohibiting the use of wild animals in circuses in England was due to be passed in 2015, but Conservative MP Christopher Chope repeatedly blocked the bill under the reasoning that "The EU Membership Costs and Benefits bill should have been called by the clerk before the circuses bill, so I raised a point of order". He explained that the circus bill was "at the bottom of the list" for discussion. The Animal Defenders International non-profit group dubbed this "a huge embarrassment for Britain that 30 other nations have taken action before us on this simple and popular measure". On 1 May 2019 Environmental Secretary Michael Gove announced a new Bill to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. The Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2019 came into effect on 20 January 2020. Wales A bill to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in Wales was introduced in June 2019, and the Wild Animals and Circuses (Wales) Act 2020 was subsequently passed by the Welsh Parliament on 15 July 2020. The people of Wales made over 6,500 responses to the public consultation on the draft Bill, 97% of which supported the ban. Scotland The use of wild animals in travelling circuses has been banned in Scotland. The Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (Scotland) Act 2018 came into force on 28 May 2018. == North America and the Caribbean ==

Honduras On November 12, 2015, the Honduran National Congress approved the Animal Welfare Act which banned the use of all animals in circuses. Mexico , Hidalgo, Mexico In December 2014, as a response to reports of animal mistreatment, the Mexican Congress passed a law banning the use of animals in any circus in the country. The law set fines for violations and required circuses to submit lists of the wildlife they possessed, which would then be made available to zoos interested in taking the animals. United States ( 2001) During a Circus International performance in Honolulu, Hawaii, on 20 August 1994, an elephant called Tyke (1974 – 20 August 1994) killed her trainer, Allen Campbell, and severely mauled her groomer, Dallas Beckwith, in front of hundreds of spectators. She then escaped the arena and ran through the streets of Kakaʻako for more than thirty minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke, who eventually collapsed from the wounds and died. Tyke posthumously became a symbol of circus tragedies and of animal rights. Lawsuits were filed against the City of Honolulu, the State of Hawaii, Circus International, Tyke's owner John Cuneo Jr. and Cuneo's company, Hawthorn Corporation. The incident inspired legislation on local levels in Hawaii and abroad. California Congressman Sam Farr introduced legislation into the House of Representatives in 1999 and again in 2012. According to PETA, although the US Animal Welfare Act does not permit any sort of punishment that puts the animals in discomfort, trainers will still go against this law and use such things as electric rods and bullhooks. According to PETA, during an undercover investigation of Carson & Barnes Circus, video footage was captured showing animal care director Tim Frisco training endangered Asian elephants with electrical shock prods and instructing other trainers to "beat the elephants with a bullhook as hard as they can and sink the sharp metal hook into the elephant's flesh and twist it until they scream in pain". In its January 2010 verdict on the case, brought against Feld Entertainment International by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals et al., the Court ruled that evidence against the circus company was "not credible with regard to the allegations". In lieu of a USDA hearing, Feld Entertainment, Inc. (parent of Ringling Bros.) agreed to pay an unprecedented fine for violations of the Animal Welfare Act that allegedly occurred between June 2007 and August 2011. A 14-year litigation against the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to an end in 2014 when The Humane Society of the United States and a number of other animal rights groups paid a $16 million settlement to Feld Entertainment. The circus discontinued its elephant act in May 2016 and sent its pachyderms to a reserve. Ticket sales declined steeply, and the circus closed in May 2017 after a 146-year run. City ordinances banning performances by wild animals have been enacted in San Francisco (2015), Los Angeles (2017), and New York City (2017). In December 2018, New Jersey became the first state in the U.S. to ban circuses, carnivals and fairs from featuring elephants, tigers, and other exotic animals. == South America ==

Bolivia In 2009, Bolivia passed legislation banning the use of any animals, wild or domestic, in circuses. The law states that circuses "constitute an act of cruelty." Circus operators had one year from the bill's passage on 1 July 2009 to comply. Colombia Law 1638 of 2013 prohibits the use of wild animals in circuses in Colombia. Uruguay Unlike most other South American countries, Uruguay has not enacted a broad prohibition on animals in circuses. Law No. 18,471 ("Law on the Responsible Tenure of Animals"), enacted in 2009, established general animal welfare regulations, but not specifically to improve the living conditions of animals in circuses. == Notes ==