Your urgent support is needed to urge municipalities in South Africa to STOP issuing permits to circus shows with wild animals.

We oppose the use of captive wild animals for entertainment purposes, which includes their use in circuses. No matter how much “love and care” the circuses claim their animals receive, the reality is that their animals will never live natural and fulfilled lives:

• They spend tedious hours training to perfect tricks that are not part of their natural behaviour;
• They live their entire lives trapped in tiny cages or enclosures, often tethered and unable to move freely or naturally;
• They have to endure thousands of hours on the road, transported from location to location to put on yet another show.

Under these conditions, it is difficult to meet and maintain appropriate welfare standards.

In 2019, our Southern African Tourism Services Association (SATSA) released comprehensive guidelines and decision-making tool entitled “Evaluating Captive Wildlife Attractions & Activities” to assess captive wildlife interactions in terms of which are ethically acceptable and which are not. These guidelines were not only welfare based, but specifically following an integrative approach looking at ethics and following many international standards for wildlife tourism.

According to SATSA, performing animal activities and therefore circuses that promote such activities are unacceptable and should be avoided. They are clear that such activities are not in the interest of the animals, but are purely to fulfil human and commercial interests. They further add:

• These animals undergo some form of training, which methods frequently involve corporal punishment, tethering and/or food deprivation, and may be physically and/or mentally damaging to the animals involved.

• The animals do not have freedom of choice to be involved in the performance.

• There is no educational or conservation value in watching animals perform unnaturally in public performances.

In South Africa, circus lions and tigers are typically sourced from the commercial captive predator industry, an industry that perpetuates a vicious cycle of exploitation from cradle to grave. 

Public and political support for ending the use of wild animals in circuses is not new. Almost 30 countries have banned the use of animals in circuses, including Austria, Croatia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Israel, Singapore, Peru, Brazil, Chile, The Netherlands, Ireland, England and Mexico. Many circuses are now switching from using real animals to holograms for cruelty-free shows. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We urge YOU, your friends and family to avoid circuses that still exploit wild animals for human entertainment. An hour of fun for you and your family is a life-time of captivity and cruelty for a wild animal.

There is a strong human desire to see and potentially physically interact with animals, especially when steeped in childhood memories of circus visits. However, scientific and cognitive research about animal sentience and animal behaviour has significantly advanced over time. Born from this increased knowledge, comes an understanding of how the misuse of animals for human entertainment is detrimental not only to the welfare of the individual animals, but also of to the way in which humans ultimately respect and treat these animals.

Most people love animals, and, when given the correct information, would prefer to interact with them in ways that do not harm the animals, creating a better experience for everyone involved.

Sign this petition to urge municipalities in South Africa to STOP issuing permits to circus shows with wild animals.