Scotland Bans wild animals in traveling circuses
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Captive Animals' Protection Society
December 2017

The Scottish Parliament has passed a Bill to ban wild animals in travelling circuses in Scotland.

The bill was unanimously signed off by MSPs, 112 votes to 0. This is the first of it’s kind in the UK.

CAPS, OneKind, Born Free and other animal protection groups have campaign on this issue for decades. Earlier this year, CAPS was invited to give evidence on the Draft Bill. Campaigns Director, Nicola O’Brien, answered questions from government committee members and stressed the need for quick action on this.

Responding to today’s news Nicola said,

“I could not be more delighted with today’s result. This is a huge victory for animals exploited in circuses. Scotland is the first country in the UK to ban the use of wild animals in circuses and we congratulate them on taking this long overdue step. We now call on the rest of the UK to do the same.”

The English parliament voted on a similar ban back in 2012 but has yet to pass the bill into law. Wales has recently been exploring the case for a ban too, with a public consultation showing the vast majority of the public want a ban in Wales.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who over the years has demonstrated, lobbied their MSPs, attending council meetings, supported CAPS and spoke out for the animals – what a fantastic result!

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