Defra to ban performing wild animals in circuses, unveils interim licensing plan

The government has confirmed that it intends to introduce a ban on the use of performing wild animals in travelling circuses on ethical grounds, but will set up a licensing scheme in the interim.

In a written statement James Paice, a junior minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, acknowledged that bringing in a ban would take time.

The government has therefore published a consultation on proposals for a “tough” licensing scheme to protect the welfare of animals until the ban is in place. Draft guidance has also been drawn up.

Paice pointed out that the 2007 Radford report on circus animals concluded that there was insufficient scientific evidence to demonstrate that travelling circuses were unable to meet the welfare needs of wild animals presently being used in the United Kingdom.

“That position has not changed,” the minister said. “Consequently, we are now looking at the means by which a ban could be introduced on ethical grounds.”

Paice added that the government had had to wait until the outcome of a legal challenge to a ban in Austria. However, in December 2011 the judgment by the Austrian Constitutional Court did not result in a referral to the European Court of Justice.

“On that basis we have the legal confidence to make our intentions clear,” the minister said.

The government will use powers already available in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to set up the new licensing scheme, which will be put before the House of Commons for consideration before it rises for the summer.

Defra is proposing that under the scheme, anyone responsible for a travelling circus that uses wild animals in performance:

• Must hold a valid licence before using their animals in performance or face prosecution;
• Must meet strict welfare standards or face enforcement action;
• Must prepare and follow care plans for every animal; and
• Must prepare a retirement plan for every animal.

The proposed welfare standards would cover all aspects of life for a wild animal in a travelling circus environment, including:

• Accommodation and housing standards;
• Arranging for full veterinary care;
• Changing animals listed in collections;
• Controlling carefully who may access animals;
• Diet (including food storage, preparation and provision);
• Environmental and behavioural enrichment;
• Environment factors (such as noise and temperature);
• Welfare during training and performance.

The draft guidance identifies the practical steps that circuses would be able to follow in order to comply with the law. The welfare standards are based around the “five needs” established by the 2006 Act: the need for suitable environment, diet, normal behaviour patterns, housing with or apart from other animals, and protection from pain, injury, suffering and disease.

Government-appointed specialist vets will carry out formal inspections before a licence is issued or renewed. Complicance checks will also be carried out during the period of a licence. These will include announced and unannounced visits both to winter quarters and to tour sites.

The minister later rejected accusations from Fiona O’Donnell, the Labour MP for East Lothian, that Defra ministers had hidden behind “spurious threats of legal challenges in the EU as an excuse for doing nothing”.

Paice said: “A ban for welfare reasons would almost certainly fail if challenged in the courts. That is why we must act on ethical grounds, which means that we must be sure that our measure is watertight.

“It would be easy to pass legislation today only for it to be bogged down in the courts for several years under challenge, with no protection for the animals. That is why we must take the two-pronged approach of licensing urgently while we proceed with a ban.”

The consultation runs until 25 April.