21 Dec. Letter to Julia Klöckner: Wild animals belong in the wild - not in the circus!
In a letter to the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, members of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals of the European Parliament called for a stricter ban on wild animals in circuses. "The circus has nothing to do with the real behavior of animals," emphasizes Manuela Ripa, MEP of the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) and member of the intergroup.
That sounds like an early April Fool's joke - except that the laughter gets stuck in your throat. It goes against all scientific knowledge to exclude tigers, lions and other big cats from this ban!
The German government intends to ban wild animals in circuses, but with crucial exceptions, for example for big cats: "That sounds like an early April Fool's joke - except that the laughter sticks in your throat. It goes against all scientific knowledge to exclude tigers, lions and other big cats from this ban! For these animals, the circus means unimaginable torture: they are sold on several times, transported over long distances, kept in cages that are too small and separated from their mothers far too early. Even after several generations in captivity, the animals still display their natural, wild behavior - and are forced to behave contrary to their nature in the circus. Every attempt to improve the living conditions of wild animals in circuses has failed. A complete ban is therefore unavoidable. Minister Klöckner, who is responsible for animal welfare in Germany, must now finally act consistently in the interests of humans and animals!"
In addition to the serious animal welfare concerns, wild animals in circuses pose a serious risk to public health: the close proximity between humans and animals leads to an increased risk of zoonotic disease transmission. In other words, diseases that - like Covid-19 - spread from animals to humans. In addition, there are regular incidents between animals and humans.