OneKind welcomes Committee decision to “prod” Minister over circuses.
The Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament today (12 November 2013) agreed to ask the Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead MSP for clarification of the Scottish Government’s intention regarding a ban on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses.
Considering the OneKind petition on circuses this morning, MSPs noted the stop-start progress towards a ban at Westminster, and that the UK government had confirmed its intention to proceed to a full ban, covering all wild animals. (There had been concern that the ban might be limited to elephants and big cats, following a surprising and unscientific recommendation from the EFRA Committee considering the proposal at Westminster. OneKind supporters, along with other animal welfare groups, acted promptly to protest against this suggestion and we are delighted that it has been dismissed.)
MSPs noted that it would be possible for a UK Bill to be extended to cover Scotland, and agreed to a proposal by Committee Convener David Stewart MSP that the Committee should write to the Cabinet Secretary to ask what his intentions were. Jackson Carlaw MSP suggested it might be necessary to “prod” the Cabinet Secretary to ensure that Scotland did not fall behind England on this issue, and the Committee agreed that it would be useful to see some action on circuses.
OneKind understands that a consultation on options for regulating circuses in Scotland is in the pipeline, and looks forward to its early publication.