FROM THE UK:
Animal performances are a dying breed.
Public opinion over the use of animals in circuses has changed with the
growing awareness of animal welfare.
Elephants, tigers, lions, chimpanzees and other exotic animals were once
considered integral to circus entertainment. Now there is growing
distaste at seeing wild animals performing in the ring.
Gerry Cottle: Public opinion is not clear cut
This shift in opinion, likely to be accelerated by Mary Chipperfield's
conviction on animal cruelty charges, has ensured the evolution of the
circus away from animals and towards more performance-based shows.
Former circus impresario Gerry Cottle has accepted the changing fashion
by abandoning touring circuses.
The Cirque du Soleil concentrates on human skill.
He says he is adapting to the marketplace and has not used animals for
six years. Instead he now concentrates on travelling theme parks.
His Circus of Horrors uses bizarre and sexually explicit material which
may not be to everyone's taste. However, he believes the audience demand
is complex.
"In London the public do not want to see circuses with animals. But in
the country they do. Even with our radical Circus of Horrors we still
get people saying it is not the same and asking where the elephants
are," he said.
The world famous French troupe Cirque du Soleil is another contemporary
circus that uses only human performers. It specialises in feats of
extraordinary acrobatic ability which draw in big audiences wherever it
tours.
Nonetheless, some critics believe that relying on a shift in tastes is
not enough. They say circus regulation remains a problem and needs to be
addressed.
Local authorities can inspect circuses and training quarters and the
Home Office is putting together a circular to remind them of their
powers.
The treatment of exotic animals needs closer scrutiny, but in the
aftermath of the recent government working group report on circuses, the
chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on animal welfare, Ian
Cawsey, said he would like to see a total ban on the use of exotic
animals in the circus.
"It has got to the stage when it doesn't matter what the law is, you are
never going to satisfactorily look after exotic and wild animals in the
circus and really the whole practice should be ended," he said.
Ian Cawsey: A total ban on animals is the answer!!
His view is shared by groups working to promote concern for the
well-being of animals. The RSPCA for example has long been opposed to
circuses that feature zoos and other animal entertainment.
Mr. Cawsey believes that the Home Office may tighten up the law within
the next few years.
The outcome of the Chipperfield case may well put the issue of how some
of the world's most beautiful animals are treated in this country under
closer scrutiny.