France bans wild animals in circuses

In France, wild animals will no longer be permitted in circuses in the future.

The parliament in Paris gave its final approval to the corresponding law with a vote in the Senate. Switzerland still lags far behind when it comes to protecting wild animals.

Purchase, sale, and breeding to be banned

The purchase, sale, and breeding of wild animals for performances in travelling circuses is set to be prohibited two years after the official announcement of the law. Performances themselves, as well as keeping and transporting wild animals, will become illegal seven years after the announcement.

The French law also stipulates that a one-week cooling-off period must elapse before purchasing a pet. This is intended to combat impulse purchases, which are one of the main reasons for the abandonment of animals, the Senate stated. Higher penalties will in future apply for abandoning and mistreating pets.

Switzerland lags behind

In Switzerland, circus acts featuring wild animals are still permitted. This is despite the fact that in many respects a stricter animal welfare law applies here than in other countries. Various animal welfare organisations as well as the SP and the Greens parties pushed through a motion in January of this year in the Zurich City Council calling for a ban on these attractions.

Efforts towards animal welfare were blocked particularly by the centre-right parties. The motion originated from radical animal welfare circles, said the SVP spokesperson. The FDP also took the view that the conditions under which animals are kept in the circus are perfectly acceptable. “Every horse would rather be at Circus Knie than living in the wild”, said Elisabeth Schoch, herself an equestrian.

Restrictions in Germany

In Germany, the Animal Welfare Circus Ordinance proposed by Federal Minister Julia Klöckner stipulated that circuses would no longer be permitted to acquire giraffes, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, primates, and large bears. However, the Bundesrat rejected the draft legislation at the end of June 2021. From the perspective of animal welfare organizations, the proposal fell short regardless, since the listed species are rarely found in circuses anymore. Lions and tigers, which are seen more frequently in the ring, would still have been permitted to be kept.

The organization PETA also pointed out that no provision had been made to prevent wild animals already owned by circuses from continuing to be kept. Nor was there any ban on the training of wild animals, which is “always associated with coercion and violence”. Around 60 German municipalities have established their own bans on wild animals in circuses. However, circuses can challenge these bans in court and still perform with camels or big cats.