Mexico Bans Circus Animals
Read Time:1 Minute, 6 Second
I don’t know if the United States has laws that regulate the use of wild animals in circuses and sideshows but if they don’t they certainly should. If states don’t know how to go about this they need to take a look at Mexico.
(Newser) Mexico’s congress has passed legislation to ban the use of animals in circuses across the country. The lower chamber’s vote yesterday followed one earlier in the week by the Senate and came six months after Mexico City passed a similar ban that is to go into effect next year. Six states also adopted bans. The House of Deputies say in a statement that the chamber voted 267-66 to approve the bill aimed at combating mistreatment of animals. It calls for fines for violations and requires circuses to submit lists of the wildlife they possess, which would then be made available to zoos interested in taking the animals. The bill now needs the signature of President Enrique Pena Nieto. He hasn’t spoken about the proposal, but it was introduced by an allied party.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
There are statutes about animal cruelty, as I am sure you know. How well those are enforced and how often practices are checked probably varies as much as any other law.
I am confident that most circuses care very well for their animals as they are a valuable asset. There are no doubt others that take a far different approach.
One of the worst abuses I know of is training via operant conditioning. Sadly, this is how the chimpanzees in the early days of the space program were trained. They would strap metal pates to their feet and give them electric shocks for unwanted behavior. Is it any surprise that the same government approved the use of torture on human beings?