Circuses have already started touring this year!

Animals are still being made to perform tricks in the big-top, to amuse noisy crowds. These animals are forced to endure intensive training methods, they are made to perform unnatural tricks, have to suffer long hours on the road between venues, stay in temporary accommodation and live in extremely unnatural environments. All in the name of profit and entertainment!

How can this still be happening?

In 2020 a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses came into force. These bans have excluded animals that are classed as ‘domestic’, like horses, llamas, dogs, birds and others. They are not seen as worthy of protection to the same degree. But they still suffer terribly in circuses!

Circus Mondao were, until the Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2020, a circus who continued to use wild animals as part of their act, including camels and reindeer. Since the ban, the circus continues to exploit animals for entertainment. Horses, ponies, donkeys, doves; none of these animals should be forced to perform in a circus. Circus Mondao states ‘With us we bring our large family of animals and human performers’. How can the needs of the animals be met when on the road, being forced to move from town to town and perform day after day?

Giffords Circus is another example of a circus that still exploits animals in the UK. They boast on their website of using horses, dogs, poultry and other birds and claim they have welfare at their heart, even having a section on their website for this. But you would think that if they really cared about the animals as they claim, they let them to live a more natural life, free to roam, free to make choices and free from the manic lifestyle a circus brings.

Get Involved!

Want to help animals that are still being exploited in UK circuses? There are many ways in which you can speak out:

• Hold a demonstration at circus visiting near you. We can help you organise one, provide materials or check our Facebook page for the latest info on upcoming protests.
• Report a visiting animal circus in your area to us.
• Complain to the landowners that are hosting the circus and let them know the cruelty the animals face.
• Take part in online actions on our social media pages.
• Hold an information stall and help spread the word about the suffering the animals must endure.
• Door drop campaign leaflets in your local area.
• Write to your local paper about the misery of animals in UK circuses.
• Hold a fundraising event to support our circus campaigns.
• Volunteer on a street collection to raise funds. We will help you organise it and provide collection tins.

If you want to get involved email us: [email protected]

We can send out leaflets and posters, help organise a demonstration or help you link up with a campaigns group in your area. If you are already planning on holding a protest or information stall, let us know so we can assist in any way we can.

 

You can find more about why we are continuing the fight for animals in circuses and how they suffer here:

https://www.freedomforanimals.org.uk/circuses

​No animal should be used as a prop for entertainment!