Member News
8th June 2011
Animal Defenders International call on the government to "do the right thing" and ban the use of wild animals in circuses, as MPs discuss the issue in a Westminster Hall debate.
The issue of wild animals in circuses has been the subject of animated debate amongst MPs in the past month. It looks as if things are far from over in Westminster, as Defra will have to defend, once again, its decision not to ban wild animals in circuses in a Westminster Hall debate initiated by shadow justice minister Robert Flello today.
The government announced in May that it was unable to ban wild animals in circuses due to a pending court case challenging the Austrian ban under EU law. Animal Defenders International’s (ADI) revelation that there was, in fact, no pending court case at the European Court of Justice, nor the Austrian Constitutional Court, triggered a strong reaction from MPs from all political parties.
Minister Jim Paice had to admit in a subsequent urgent question that the information given to Parliament was indeed "incorrect", under a hail of criticism from MPs. Instead of overturning the government’s decision, he insisted that a ban was still not legal however, arguing that he received "very strong legal advice" from Defra that a ban on wild animals in circuses would be illegal under both the EU Service Directive and the UK Human Rights Act, thus refusing to do what the vast majority of MPs and voters want him to do.
While Defra has yet to make available its "very strong legal advice" that the UK would break international laws by banning wild animals in circuses, law firm Bircham Dyson Bell confirmed to ADI that it would not be the case.
This solid independent advice makes clear that the UK is, obviously, absolutely free to save wild animals from the terrible suffering they endure in circuses, without fearing legal challenges from the circus industry.
Today, the government will once more have to respond to MPs in a Westminster Hall debate following ADI’s revelations.
On the face of increasingly impatient demands for a ban from MPs, we can only hope that Defra will at last understand the strength of the public feeling on this issue, and do the right thing at last.
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