Ronnie's Blog

This is a copy of the email I received from the Captive Animals Protection Society today.

Government has today published draft legislation to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in England. The ban will come into force on the 1st December 2015, and from that day on, wild animals will no longer be used by circuses travelling the country.

Yes, the December 2015 implementation date is too far away for our liking and yes, we would like to see this ban apply to all animals (whether wild or domesticated) but, notwithstanding those concerns, as we start to scrutinise the proposals in detail, today is also a time to celebrate the achievement of all those that have contributed to the campaign over many years. Today is a day to appreciate all those that have got us this far, knowing that the light at the end of the tunnel is finally in sight, for us and the animals.

There have been the champions of recent years; including Mark Pritchard MP who so famously stuck his head above the parapet during the 2011 Parliamentary debate on the issue and openly accused the Prime Minster of attempted coercion. There is Tom Harris MP, Thomas Docherty MP, Caroline Lucas MP, Zac Goldsmith MP and a host of others who have spoken out on this issue and helped ensure that the campaign never dropped off the Government agenda.

There was our youngest spokesperson – little Gabriel Ryan – who became the face of the campaign as CAPS and campaign partners took over a huge billboard just outside the Conservative party conference in 2011 to deliver Gabriel’s very simple message to Government that: “Animals take the smiles out of the circus”.

There have been those wonderful people who have turned out come rain or shine to stage demonstrations as circuses travel the country. As the Government dragged its feet, these dedicated campaigners were continuing to drive visitor numbers to animal circuses down and down and down. Last year, the Government reported that audience numbers at wild animal circuses had more than halved in just five years.

There are the unsung heroes here in our own office and those of our campaign partners who have worked tirelessly to ensure the campaign’s success. Working together, sharing skills and resources and ensuring that we were speaking with a united voice on this important issue. In this way we ensured that the support and donations of our members were put to the very best use and the campaign had the very best chance of success.

There are the brave undercover investigators who have taken risks to gain footage to expose animal suffering and there are the journalists that have worked with us all to ensure that themessage is spread far and wide.

There was invaluable advice from our legal advisors who supported the bold assertion made in early 2012 by CAPS and the Born Free Foundation that we would see the Government in the High Court if they did not move to ban. Just two months later and the announcement was made that the ban was on its way in.

And then, of course, there are all of you reading this who have written letters, signed petitions, joined demos, written blogs, made donations and given us the support we needed at every step.

But it’s not just in recent years that these animal protection champions have been working to ensure an end to animal suffering in the big top and we should not forget those that have gone before. Irene Heaton founded CAPS in 1957 with the specific goal of outlawing the use of animals in circuses. As we are lucky to besupported by so many people now, so Irene and her team were supported by MPs, supporters, grassroots activists and campaign partners back then.

Over the years the numbers of circuses dwindled, the number of animals got smaller and smaller and support for the campaign swelled. Thanks to the foundations set by people like Irene and the work carried out by so many people to build upon those foundations, we are finally in a place where it seems the light at the end of this 56 year tunnel is in sight.

Of course, we must continue to campaign until all circuses in the UK and Ireland are animal-free and we will continue to push to ensure that the ban is introduced at the absolute earliest possible opportunity but today, we would like to say ‘thank you’ to all of you that have supported this vital campaign for your ongoing support.

Thank you.
Liz Tyson, Director

PS. If you would like to make a donation to support our campaign for those animals still suffering under the big top, we would be very grateful. Thank you.