Bill Description:
This bill would prohibit the use of exotic animals in any traveling show or traveling exhibit if, during the 15-day period preceding the show, the animal was living or traveling in a mobile housing facility.[teaserbreak]
Exemptions:
• Outreach programs for education or conservation purposes by facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), if the animal is not kept in a mobile housing facility for more than 12 hours per day.
• A university, college, laboratory, or other research facility registered by the United States Secretary of Agriculture.
• Film, television, or advertising, if the use does not involve a live public exhibition.
Background:
The tigers, elephants, primates, and other animals used in circus acts are deprived of everything that is important to them. They are kept in small cages or on concrete floors, denied the opportunity to express their physical and social needs, and forced to spend endless hours in transit inside of trailers and train cars. Their training often involves severe punishment, and their handlers may beat, restrain, and sedate them. Animals kept in such conditions frequently display abnormal behaviors such as rocking, swaying, pacing, and self-mutilation. This “zoochosis,” as it is called, indicates extreme mental distress stemming from severe deprivation.
The inhumane conditions for animals in circuses are compounded by the threat these animals pose to the public. Wild animals are inherently unpredictable and incapable of being tamed, and circuses found in violation of the AWA’s safety and confinement standards have a greater potential for attacks and injuries. Born Free USA’s Exotic Incidents Database details many such instances that illustrate the danger of exposing the public to wild animals.
Check out our Animals in Entertainment page for more information on why it is cruel and exploitative to use wild animals in exhibits or shows.
Take Action:
Pennsylvania residents, contact your state senator and urge him or her to support this legislation.
Read the full text and follow its progress here.