What legislation regulates circuses and travelling shows in Canada?
There is no legislation at the federal level in Canada that specifically regulates the training, transportation, housing or use of animals in circuses or travelling shows. Although the Criminal Code of Canada prohibits the “willful” infliction of “unnecessary” suffering upon an animal, practices which are common to circuses and travelling shows are rarely subject to any order or charge by a humane society. At the provincial level, Nova Scotia is the first and only province to introduce standards (84k PDF) governing the care and transportation of animals used in circuses and travelling shows. It should be recognized, however, that most performing animals are trained and spend most of their lives outside of Canada, beyond the reach of any federal or provincial legislation. Moreover, the transitory nature of such shows makes meaningful enforcement difficult as the show may have left a jurisdiction before a complaint regarding an animal in distress can be made, investigated, and charges la
