Group wants ban on animal circus
AN ANIMAL circus is coming to Northamptonshire amid a welfare campaign to boycott all performances featuring animals.
Peter Jolly’s Circus will be performing at Newnham Turn Farm in Dodford, near Daventry, on Wednesday, May 20, through to Sunday, May 24.
But the Captive Animals’ Protection Society (CAPS) released a statement asking people to boycott all animal circuses, claiming that travelling circuses can never meet the needs of any animals due to the constant moving between performance venues and confinement.
Peter Jolly Snr, who runs the circus with his son, Peter Jolly Jnr, said his circus was one of eight animal circuses in the country and that his animals – including camels, zebras, snakes and horses – were treated well.
He said: “People vote with their feet and they come to the circus. We abide by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) rulings on what we are allowed to do.
“We look after our animals, otherwise it would be against the law.
“The truth is that CAPS don’t get their facts straight.”
Craig Redmond, campaigns director for CAPS, said: “Circuses will vary slightly and what will also vary are the locations they move to.
“They often don’t know what facilities are going to be there for the animals until they get there. I have seen plenty of circuses park up on fields and parks where the animals don’t get out at all.
“It will vary from case to case but it’s irrelevant because animals shouldn’t be used at all.
“They are moving the animals every week from town to town and you have to consider the training of the animals, which adds up to a strong case against them.”
A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire County Council said anyone using animals for performance purposes should be registered with the local authority’s trading standards team where they are based.
The trading standards team where the circus is performing will be responsible for ensuring the circus complies with animal welfare laws and can carry out spot checks if it has any reason to believe they are being broken.
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