Wild animals banned from UK circuses

After many years of campaigning by groups including Born Free and RSPCA, a ban is being imposed on animals being used in travelling circuses in England. According to this article, there are 24 wild animals including big cats and zebras still used in circuses in the UK.

Although the practice seems somewhat outdated, animals such as lions, tigers, zebras and snakes are still used by several travelling circuses in the UK. The practice is recognised as cruel for several reasons:

• Animals are often kept in cramped cages whilst in transit.
• They are forced to perform tricks which are not natural to them
• They are subject to loud noises from the crowds, light, and special effects such as pyrotechnics, which can be scary for the.

This report, published by the RSPCA shows that circus life has a negative impact on animal welfare.

According to the BBC in July last year, some MPs believed that the then-intended ban went too far, saying that animals such as snakes and zebras* should still be allowed in UK circuses.

It is thought that Born Free and the RSPCA will help to rehome animals currently in circuses.


*On a side note, after elephants, zebras are responsible for the most human deaths in zoos worldwide, predominantly because people fail to realise how dangerous they are, and assume they can be treated the same as domestic horses.

#BanCannedHunting #SaveOurLions

Like many people around the world, we managed to get involved in Global March For Lions at the weekend. Here are a few of the photos we took in Trafalgar Square, London:

Nice to see Sea Shepherd represented too. The event fell the same weekend as Whalefest so no doubt there will have been some people who wanted to go to both events.

Somebody has a Lion King moment.

Longleat kill six healthy lions

Lioness and cub in South African wild

Following on from this morning's news that Copenhagen Zoo killed a healthy giraffe that was 'surplus' to their requirements, it has now emerged that Longleat Safari Park in the South West of England have had six of their lions, including four young cubs, killed.

Less than a week after being voted Best Large Visitor Attraction in the South West, a whistleblower apparently told the Mail on Sunday that adult male Henry, female Louisa, and four of her cubs were all put down for no obvious reason. Many staff who worked closely with the animals were not aware of the plans until after their deaths and were left devastated.

Longleat have blamed the need for the deaths on a sharp increase in their lion population numbers, which in turn led to an increase in violence in the pride, putting some of the lions at risk.

One of the world's leading big cat experts John Knight is quoted as saying "‘Most zoos have a contraceptive programme in place and manage to control populations perfectly well. That’s why this seems a bit odd, in a way. It’s just not a problem that most zoos experience."- which brings into question not only this incident, but the killing of the giraffe at Copenhagen Zoo, which revealed that that zoo puts down 20-30 healthy animals a year due to overbreeding.

The following statement appeared on Longleat's Facebook page in response to the predictable abuse:

"Firstly, we do not and will not ever put down any of our animals unless their health is very much at risk and even then it is only because we would have exhausted all other options. In regards to the lions, there has been a large increase in pregnancies, resulting in a 40 per cent increase in population. This has unfortunately resulted in excessive violent behaviour, putting 21 of them at risk.

Sadly one lion, Henry, had to be put down earlier this year due to injuries from an attack within the enclosure. The further lions referred to were put down due to associated and severe health risks. Following these incidents, five lions from this enclosure are to be moved to other premises. Longleat takes the utmost care in trying to protect the welfare and safety of all our animals."

However, this seems to leave two large questions unanswered; firstly, why were they unable to transfer the lions to another zoo, safari park or breeding programme? The BBC are reporting that five other Longleat Lions are being moved to other premises- why was the same not down for these lions?

 Secondly, and most importantly, how was this situation of lion overcrowding allowed to happen in the first place? Other zoos, London Zoo included, use contraceptives on their lions - they have to, to prevent inbreeding when members of the same family live side by side. Why were Longleat not using the same procedures?

What adds insult to injury is that the park, which was closed for the winter at the time of the lion deaths, uses the "Lions of Longleat" heavily in their promotional material. Star of the show one day, cast aside the next.