Circus wild animal ban approved by MPs

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Tory MP Mark Pritchard has said he was "threatened" by Downing Street for pushing to ban wild animals from circuses, as the government staged a humiliating climb down and the Commons approved his proposals.

MPs voted in favour of the ban following an extraordinary, somewhat farcical, and at times bizarre, Commons debate in which Pritchard revealed he had been offered government job in return for dropping his campaign.

When the debate began Conservative MPs were under strict orders, a three line whip, to vote against Pritchard's motion. But Downing Street backed down after the debate got under way and granted their backbenchers a free vote.

The MP for the Wrekin told MPs that No.10 had warned him the prime minister would look upon him "very dimly indeed" if he pursued the debate. He said it was a "mystery" why the government had mounted such a concerted effort to block his motion.

"I want to focus on the interesting past few days,” he told MPs. "On Monday, in return for amending my motion, dropping it or not calling a vote on it…I was offered a reward, an incentive.

"If I had amended my motion and not called for a ban, I would have been offered a job.

"I was offered incentive and reward on Monday, and then it was ratcheted, until last night, when I was threatened. I had a call from the prime minister’s office directly. I was told that the prime minister himself had said that unless I withdrew this motion, he would look upon it very dimly indeed."

Pritchard added: "Well, I have a message for the Whips and for the prime minister of our country.

"I might be just a little council house lad from a very poor background, but that background gives me a backbone, it gives me a thick skin, and I am not going to kowtow to the Whips or even the prime minister of my country on an issue that I feel passionately about and on which I have conviction.

He added: "We need a generation of politicians with a bit of spine, not jelly. I will not be bullied by any of the Whips. This is an issue on which I have campaigned for many years."

Pritchard’s stunning tirade against the government aside, many are asking why Downing Street tried so hard to block his plan in the first place only to relent and leave itself open to yet more accusations of performing u-turns on policy when put under pressure.

A monkey called donkey and a very happy bear

The extraordinary speech from Pritchard was followed by an series of bizarre contributions from backbench MPs who told personal stories about why they supported the motion.

Tory Bob Stewart, the former commander of British forces in Bosnia, said he had personal experience of wild animals.

He told the Commons: "I found a bear in a cage in no man’s land. He had been left there for four weeks without water. He was entirely miserable and would not even be coaxed out of his cage by honey.

"We managed to ethnically cleanse that bear out of Bosnia and into Croatia. He is now a very happy bear who is full of life and living in Amsterdam zoo, which is great."

Sheryll Murray (Con, South East Cornwall) meanwhile took the opportunity to introduce her fellow MPs to Donkey, a monkey who had suffered years of abuse in the circus, where he was beaten and forced to perform in front of large crowds.

Brandishing a photograph of the primate she told MPs: "Please remember Donkey, and the message that he cannot bring to the debate himself. It is time to ban wild animals in all circuses, so that the terrible life that Donkey has suffered need not be repeated."

Labour MP Nic Dakin spotted a chance to make fun of the Liberal Democrat benches, who had not been whipped to vote either way.

"I am particularly pleased to see a good turnout of Lib Dems for this debate," he said. "I suspect that they feel a certain empathy with circus animals, as an endangered species being kept against their will for the entertainment of others."

But his attempt to demonstrate that he recognised the seriousness of the motion was somewhat undermined when he said the government should “stop clowning around” and introduce a ban on wild animals in circuses.

Conservative Angie Bray, who said she was going to abstain if the motion was pushed to a vote, said she was not in favour of banning all animals from circuses.

"I think that some of the more domesticated animals—dogs and ponies spring to mind—thoroughly enjoy themselves," she said.

"I recall going to a charming little circus in France where a farmer, his wife, their two children, a goat and a dog held us all spellbound for about an hour. I can say that that dog and goat had a good time, getting a treat every time they did something brilliant."

Labour MP attacks 'idiotic' Rosindell

The only MP to speak out against the ban was Tory Andrew Rosindell who said the push to ban wild animals from circuses was based on "opinion polls and emotions" rather than facts.

He said: "We have to base our decisions on cool hard facts and knowledge of the situation. The speeches I have heard today do not show that; they have avoided the real animal welfare issues and are pandering to the emotions of animal rights activists who care more about their political agenda than about the real welfare of animals."

The MP for Romford said that while he "condemn utterly and totally cruelty to animals" in reality many of those animals had been "so domesticated over so many years that to wrench them from the life they are used to would be crueller than allowing them to continue it".

Rosindell sat impassively as Labour’s Jim Dowd attacked his speech as at best "idiosyncratic" or "idiotic" depending on the point of view taken.

"To say that it is not about the welfare of animals is either a display of stupidity that is quite mind-numbing or a deliberate attempt not to face up to the heart of the issue," he said.

While MPs approved the motion without a vote the decision does not ban the use of wild animals in circuses. But it does put extra pressure on the government to act. Ministers had argued any ban might contravene the Human Rights Act.

Article Comments

This debate was an opportunity to allow the House to express its views, and the government really can not be in any doubt of the feeling of the nation. The Prime Minister now needs to listen to the will of the nation and invoke a ban.

The public demands a ban, animal welfare groups demand a ban and now politicians have made it abundantly clear that they demand a ban. A ban is therefore in the public interest and the government now needs to press ahead with a ban without further delay.

Jan Creamer, chief executive, Animal Defenders International
24th Jun 2011 at 10:14 am

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