Paris pledges ban on wild animals in circuses

World
Europe

Animal welfare activists have cautiously welcomed a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses that has been proposed by city officials in Paris.

Lawmakers in the French capital voted Wednesday to support a motion by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo saying they were "unanimously committed to a city without wild animals in circuses."

But they didn't set a deadline and left the final decision on any ban to the national government.

Ecologist Jacques Boutault said the decision was "a small step forward even if it does not go far enough."

"Wild animals in circuses are not well treated," he said. "They are exploited for fun and this is hitting home to more and more Parisians."

Activists have opposed the inclusion of exotic animals in some circus shows. /Photo via Yahoo

Criticism has grown in France of the inclusion of exotic animals in some circus shows, and 65 municipalities have already banned them.

The French state has yet to proscribe wild animals in circuses, a practice that has already been outlawed in 19 other European countries.

The welfare debate resurfaced last November when a tiger that escaped from a Paris circus was shot and killed by its owner.

8240km

Source(s): AFP