Zurich City Council Wants to Ban Wild Animals in Circuses
The Zurich city parliament has referred a postulate from the SP and the Greens: circuses should no longer be allowed to display wild animals.
Roll up, roll up – but only if the circus has no wild animals on show.
On Wednesday, 27 January 2021, the Zurich city parliament referred a postulate from the SP and the Greens calling for a ban on wild animal acts. The Greens and SP had actually sought a ban on all animal acts, including horse acts — but that proposal was rejected.
The SP and the Greens were convinced that it was no longer in keeping with the times to have animals perform in circuses, whether wild animals or domestic animals. «The postulate was justified by SP city councillor Alan David Sangines: “We are talking here about flight animals such as horses that are trained for years so that they can run in circles tied to one another, in a ring with loud music and stuffy air”. In the zoo, animals are also in an unnatural environment, he acknowledged. But there at least they are not exposed to this stress and are not carted around the whole country.
A different programme in Zurich than in Rapperswil
The other parliamentary groups, however, had their doubts. «Circus Knie would therefore have to put on a different programme in Zurich than in Rapperswil», Walter Angst (AL) pointed out. That would be going too far. The GLP had some sympathy for the cause, but domestic animal acts were probably not such a problem. The party therefore proposed an amendment to the text of the postulate: instead of banning all animal acts, only wild animal acts should be prohibited. This amended postulate ultimately prevailed with 68 votes to 42 and was referred. The city council must now comment on it, after which the matter will return to the city parliament.
Horses are “happier in Circus Knie than in the wild”
The SVP and FDP were firmly opposed to all restrictions — whether for wild or domestic animals. The SVP spokesperson said the motion came from radical animal rights circles, adding that soon zoos would probably be banned too. The FDP likewise took the view that conditions for animals in circuses were perfectly fine. «Every horse would rather be part of Circus Knie than live in the wild», said Elisabeth Schoch, herself an equestrian.
City Council as opponent of the proposal
The City Council also did not want any local regulations. Karin Rykart of the Greens said the legislation was already strict enough and that no tightened rules were needed for the use of public land. In any case, more and more circuses were choosing to do away with animal acts. «The public no longer wants to see animals suffering», she said.
Banned in many other countries
In many other countries, circus acts involving animals have been banned for years — regardless of whether they involve wild animals such as tigers or domestic animals such as goats or horses. These countries include Italy and Greece, among others. Numerous further countries have banned wild animal acts, including Great Britain, Austria, and Norway. In Switzerland, wild animal acts are still permitted. The country's largest circus, Circus Knie, banned them from the ring as far back as 2004, but continues to feature domestic animal acts.
