Bern: Animal welfare advocates demand ban on wild animals in the circus
No lions jumping through hoops — no tigers walking backwards: Switzerland should enshrine a ban on wild animals in the circus in law. Animal welfare organisations submitted a petition with over 70,000 signatures on Thursday.
The Federal Council should ban the keeping of wild animals in circuses and variety shows, demand the initiators from Pro Tier, the Foundation for the Animal in Law, and Four Paws.
«Circus and species protection are incompatible,» said Vanessa Gerritsen of the Foundation for the Animal in Law, speaking to the media in Zurich.
They had been working on this cause for two years, «now the ban must come,» she said. The animal welfare advocate described the legal situation in Switzerland as «legally permitted animal cruelty.» The Animal Protection Ordinance even legitimises deviations from minimum requirements for circuses.
The three organisations handed over 70’676 signatures in Bern that afternoon. With this clear statement from the public, they are calling on the federal government to «take the scientifically grounded concerns about keeping wild animals in the circus seriously and finally issue the long-overdue ban.»
Federal Council should issue a list
The petition is only the tip of the iceberg, said Gerritsen. The animal welfare organisations hope that the Federal Council will determine which animals will be prohibited in future — perhaps in the form of a list. «For us, of course, the more the better.» Switzerland is lagging far behind in this area.
According to the initiators, 26 countries in Europe have already introduced bans or significant restrictions on the keeping of wild animals in the circus. Worldwide, the number is said to be 43. In some cases, all animal species are banned — for example in Italy, where the ban has been in force since the beginning of this year.
In addition to the size of the enclosures and the frequent changes of location, animal welfare advocates also emphasized that the large number of people during performances is problematic for the animals. "Taming does not mean domesticating," said Gerritsen. Wild animals are non-domesticated animals with needs that can barely be met in captivity.
Big cats as a “provocation”
The organizations had chosen this day for the petition handover for good reason: Circus Knie was hosting the start of its tour in Rapperswil SG that evening. “You are on the right track,” said Barbara Kerkmeer of Pro Tier, when asked about the Swiss National Circus. The two parties had been in dialogue for years.
Indeed, Knie has not featured any predatory animals in its program for many years, and the elephants have not performed since 2016. “The trend is clear,” said Kerkmeer, “more and more circuses are voluntarily giving up these acts.” Only Cirkus Royal and Circus Gasser-Olympia had still featured big cats in the most recent season. Kerkmeer described this as a “provocation.”
In both 2016 and 2017, the animal welfare organizations filed criminal complaints against the two Swiss circuses for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. One of these, in the canton of Bern, is still pending; the other, in the canton of St. Gallen, was not taken up because the relevant criminal offenses were deemed not to have been fulfilled. More on animal rights and the animal welfare problem.
Audio: Dispute over elephants & Co. in the ring
