Changes needed to bill banning circus animals, MSPs report
The bill to prevent circus operators from using wild animals as part of a travelling circus needs to be clarified as to. its scope, a Holyrood committee has stated.
Reporting at stage 1 on the Scottish Government's Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (Scotland) Bill, which aims to address ethical concerns of such displays in travelling circuses, the Environment, Climate Change & Land Reform Committee said the bill was unclear both as to which animals were covered and what constituted a circus.
It calls for the bill to include a definition of "circus", and believes that the definitions already given within the bill are open to interpretation and should be tightened.
Committee convener Graeme Dey MSP commented: "Our committee is fully supportive of Scotland’s ambition to be the first part of the UK to ban wild animals in travelling circuses.
"However, during scrutiny of the proposed bill, it became clear there was a level of ambiguity arising from the lack of definition of what constitutes a circus which could potentially create loopholes in the legislation and the possibility of it not fulfilling its intended purpose.
"Similarly, many of our witnesses – which ranged from circus owners and performers to animal rights charities and local authorities – raised concerns over the definition of a wild animal."
He called for the Scottish Government to address the points raised.