We were asked to provide the Welsh Government with an impartial literature review and an analysis of the scientific evidence available as to whether captive wild animals in travelling circuses and other animal shows achieve their optimal welfare requirements as set out under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and any other relevant legislation.
◆ The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it a criminal offence for any person responsible for an animal to fail to provide for the animal’s welfare. Under the Act, the person responsible for an animal must take all reasonable steps
to ensure the needs of the animal are met. These needs include -
(a) its need for a suitable environment,
(b) its need for a suitable diet,
(c) its need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns,
(d) any need it has to be housed with, or apart from, other animals, and
(e) its need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
However, there is considerable debate about the welfare of wild animals in travelling circuses, and views are polarised as to whether the specific conditions provided by circuses and other travelling shows that use wild animals
can meet the welfare needs of wild animals.
◆ For this review, we considered the collective effect of all aspects of management and the environment on the welfare of wild animals in travelling circuses and mobile zoos since, while one aspect of management may be interpreted as promoting good welfare, the others may not, and so the cumulative effect may be poor welfare overall.
◆ We reviewed Welsh, UK and EU legislation affecting animals in circuses and provided an overview of countries that have banned the use of some or all wild animals in circuses. We identified 33 countries that have nationwide bans on the use or import/export of some or all wild animals in circuses, including 18 EU member states. In 19 of the 23 countries for which information was available, animal welfare/protection was the sole or one of the reasons for banning the use of wild animals in circuses.