Lesley Griffiths AM, Cabinet Secretary Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
In February this year, I announced I was exploring opportunities to bring forward legislation to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. The use of wild animals in circuses is increasingly viewed as an outdated notion and ethically unacceptable. Whilst there are no circuses using wild animals based in Wales, they regularly visit, and each time they do there are renewed calls to ban the practice.
Today, I am pleased to announce the launch of a public consultation on the draft Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (Wales) Bill which aims to address these ethical concerns by banning the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in Wales.
I believe animals should not be objectified or perceived as commodities for our entertainment, rather as sentient beings with their own unique sets of needs. I want children and young people in Wales to develop respectful and responsible attitudes towards animals and I am particularly interested in their views on our proposals.
The eight week consultation will close for responses on 26 November 2018.
The consultation is available on the Welsh Government website: https://beta.gov.wales/consultations