Why not just add something to the Animal Welfare Act?
To be fair, the circus industry stated they would welcome regulation, but nothing is ever so simple. The report looked at the impact of just two factors on welfare of non-domesticated animals, transportation and housing. However, animal welfare is a scientific subject and so any amendments to the AWA would have to be based upon scientific evidence to avoid amendments being ‘vulnerable to legal challenge’. How to find the evidence HMG has stated they will consider “any evidence that has a sound scientific base, preferably peer-reviewed and conducted in an environment where the animals were performing and travelling”. It seems extremely unlikely any circus will allow veterinary behaviourists access to their animals to establish scientific proof their welfare is deleteriously affected by said circus – a little like asking turkeys to vote for Christmas! Conclusions It was concluded that for “the status quo to be changed the balance of evidence would have to present a convincing and coheren
