OneKind is pleased to see the newly-published consultation from the Scottish Government, asking “Should the use of wild animals in travelling circuses be banned in Scotland?”
With our long-running Petition to the Scottish parliament on this very subject due to be considered again next week, we have no hesitation in answering the question with a resounding “Yes”.
Reading the consultation document, we get the impression that the Scottish Government might have some sympathy with that view, but it is taking a cautious approach to legislating.
One concern raised about legislation is the need for “proportionality” – whether the available scientific evidence justifies Ministers in using their regulatory powers under our main animal welfare legislation, the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. There may have been plenty of evidence of real animal suffering in circuses over the decades, but very often that has been ascribed to cruelty or neglect by specific trainers or keepers, rather than to the system as a whole.
What Ministers need is evidence – but according to the consultation:
“[...] scientific knowledge by itself does not yet provide relevant, rational and reliable answers to many questions on animal welfare typically raised by the general public.”
Even so, the document acknowledges that the public have fallen out of love with animal circuses.
“It is clear from the steady stream of letters to Scottish Government Ministers that MSPs and the public have serious and on-going concerns about many aspects of the use of animals in travelling circuses, but especially the use of wild animals. These concerns not only involve perceived animal welfare issues, but also deal with the ethical point of whether it is acceptable, in today’s society, to transport wild animals throughout the country and make them perform simply for public entertainment.”
OneKind believes that the animal welfare case has been made, loud and clear. But we agree that there is an equally strong ethical case for a ban on this outdated use of animals. And, after all this time, we want legislation that will withstand challenge, not only from within the UK but also from the powerful European circus industry. As an alternative, the consultation sets out potential ethical grounds for a ban, including the need for an animal to live “a full and active life characteristic of its kind”.
The demise of the wild animal circus is illustrated in a table of animals licensed by DEFRA for use in circuses in England last year – camels, reindeer, snakes, zebras, a fox, a raccoon and an ankole (a type of long-horned African cattle). Altogether, there are only 21 of them. There are none in Scotland. If ever the time was ripe to do away with an antiquated tradition, this is it.
OneKind will be responding in detail to the consultation, which closes on April 16. You can do the same here.