Fall$ Fall$ 08! ! ! August$$ ! ! 2012% ! ! ! ! Eliminating%! LongCrange%and%“Dangerous”%% ! Wild%Animals%from%Entertainment%! ! Demonstrations%! in%New%York%State%% ! ! ! % ! ! ! ! ! Pace%University%Academy%for%Applied%Environmental%Studies%! ! &%the%Committee%to%Ban%Wild%and%Exotic%Animal%Acts! % ! ! ! ! Michelle!D.!Land,!J.D.1! Pace!University!Academy!for!Applied!Environmental!Studies! 901!Bedford!Road!! Pleasantville,!NY!10570! (914)!773L3091! [email protected]!! ! Committee!to!Ban!Wild!and!Exotic!Animal!Acts! Bob!Funck! Neil!Platt! Louise!Simmons! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!With!assistance!from!Pace!University!research!assistants,!Caroline!Craig,!Jessica!Goldstein,!Emilie! Guidat,!Meghan!C.!Marshall!and!Cheri!Neal.!!!! ! TABLE!OF!CONTENTS! ! I. SYNOPSIS!(4)! ! II. ISSUES!WITH!“DANGEROUS”!WILD!ANIMALS!IN!ENTERTAINMENT! ! a. Traveling!Circuses!and!Animal!Confinement!(5)! ! b. Training!LongKRange!Wild!Animal!Performers!(7)! ! c. Consequences!of!Physiological!Stressors!in!Wild!CaPtive!Animals!(9)! ! d. Animal!Welfare!Act!and!Regulation!of!Wild!Animals!(13)! ! e. Public!Safety!Risk!(14)! ! f. Lack!of!Educational!Value!(16)! ! III. WORLDWIDE!AND!DOMESTIC!TREND!TOWARD!NONLANIMAL!CIRCUSES! ! a. History!of!the!Circus:!A!Trend!Toward!Human!Performance!Entertainment! (18)! ! b. Today’s!Circuses!(19)! ! c. Zoos!Phasing!Out!Elephant!Exhibits!(20)! ! d. Primate!SPecific!Bans!(21)! ! e. International!Legislation!to!Restrict!Use!of!Wild!Animals!in!Entertainment! (21)! ! f. United!States!Legislation!to!Restrict!Use!of!Wild!Animals!in!Entertainment! (23)! ! IV. PROPOSED!ACTION!AND!IMPACTS! ! a. Proposed!Legislation!(25)! ! b. Animal!Circuses!RePlaced!by!NonKAnimal!Circuses!(27)! ! c. Economic!Impact!of!Eliminating!LongKRange!Wild!Animals!from!Circuses! (27)! ! V. CONCLUSION!(29)! ! ! 2! ! VI. APPENDICES! ! A. !CIRCUS!CITATIONS!AND!INCIDENTS!(PETA)! ! B. !CIRCUS!ANIMAL!INCIDENTS!(PETA)!! ! C. LETTER!FROM!BLAYNE!DOYLE!TO!WESTCHESTER!COUNTY!BOARD!OF! LEGISLATORS!! ! D. STATE!OF!THE!CIRCUS!INDUSTRY!FACTSHEED!(PETA)! ! E. CIRCUSES!WITHOUT!WILD,!EXOTIC!ANIMALS!(PETA)! ! F. ZOOS!THAT!HAVE!CLOSED!OR!EXPRESSED!INTENT!TO!CLOSE! ELEPHANT!EXHIBITS!(IDA)! ! G. 2007!LETTER!FROM!THE!HON.!ROSIE!MENDEZ!TO!HER!NYC!COUNCIL! PEER!MEMBERS!! ! H. PROPOSED!FEDERAL!LEGISLATION!(H.R.!3359!and!H.R.!2929)! ! I. SAMPLE!OF!EXISTING!LAWS!AND!MODEL!LEGISLATION! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 3! ! ! I.!!SYNOPSIS! ! ! Pace!University!Academy!for!ApPlied!Environmental!Studies!(Pace!Academy)!and!the! Committee!to!Ban!Wild!and!Exotic!Animal!Acts!(The!Committee)!are!calling!for!a!New!York! State!ban!on!the!use!of!certain!wild!and!exotic!animals!in!entertainment!acts,!such!as! circuses.!!To!be!clear,!we!are!not!advocating!for!circuses!per$se!to!be!banned,!but!rather!the! disallowance!of!certain!“dangerous”!wild!animals!for!entertainment!purposes!in!New!York! State.!Nor!are!we!advocating!for!the!ban!or!regulation!of!ownership!of!“dangerous”!wild! animals.!!Pursuant!to!the!United!States!DePt.!of!Agriculture!(USDA),!such!“dangerous! animals”!include:!elePhants,!lions,!tigers,!bears/Polar!bears,!wolves,!cougars,!leopards,! jaguars,!nonhuman!Primates,!and!rhinos.!!!An!exemption!is!strongly!encouraged!for! organizations!with!the!mission!of!conservation!education,!organizations!that!support!the! propagation!and!reintroduction!of!exotic!animals!into!the!wild!or!designated!sanctuaries,! or!that!otherwise!Promote!a!harmonious!relationshiP!between!humans!and!nature!in!a!way! that!resPects!the!natural!dignity!of!the!animals.! ! Pace!Academy!and!The!Committee!ProPose!that!the!New!York!State!legislature!approach! this!ban!in!one!of!the!following!ways:! ! i. Legislation!expressly!banning!the!use!of!“dangerous”!wild!animals!in!traveling! circuses!and!exhibitions.! ! ii. Legislation!expressly!banning!wild!“dangerous!animals,”!identified!in!the!USDA! list!above,!from!entertainment!acts!taking!place!in!New!York.! ! iii. Legislation!exPressly!banning!the!use!of!cruel!and!inhumane!animal!training! devices,!such!as!bull!hooks,!ankus,!electric!prods,!and!whips!used!in!animal! entertainment!acts!in!New!York.!! ! Traveling!circuses!with!wild!animals!acts!Pose!an!inherent!public!safety!risk.!!Constant! confinement!for!11!months!a!year,!inability!to!Perform!natural!behaviors,!and!the!cruel!and! inhumane!training!Practices!that!are!endured!by!the!animals!are!inextricably!linked!to! Public!safety!because!of!the!increased!likelihood!of!rampage!or!retaliation!at!unPredictable! times,!esPecially!when!the!animal!is!Performing!or!interacting!with!the!Public.!!Circus! animal!trainers!have!no!contingency!plan!for!getting!a!rampaging!3K6!ton!elephant!or!500! pound!tiger!under!control!in!such!hazardous!situations!and!may!rely!on!local!law! enforcement!to!shoot!the!animal!many!times!in!order!to!bring!it!down.!!! ! The!Animal!Welfare!Act!(AWA),!enforced!by!the!USDA,!creates!only!minimum!standards!for! the!handling,!care,!treatment,!and!transPort!of!animals!in!traveling!exhibits.!!!Most!state! and!local!agencies!defer!to!the!already!overburdened!USDA!for!matters!concerning!wild! and!exotic!animals!in!circuses.!!To!wit,!standards!regulated!by!the!AWA!are!Poorly!enforced! due,!in!Part,!to!lack!of!resources;!120!USDA!Animal!and!Plant!Health!InsPection!Service! inspectors!are!responsible!for!over!11,000!regulated!facilities.!!Thus,!violations!are! commonPlace,!Penalties!are!weak!and!even!persistent!violators!are!rarely!prosecuted.!!! ! 4! Moreover,!the!Animal!Welfare!Act!does!not!Prohibit!any!kind!of!training!method,!including! the!use!of!whips,!bull!hooks,!electric!prods,!or!other!devices!that!cause!suffering.!In!fact,!no! government!agency!monitors!training!sessions,!where!Performing!animals!are!often! abused!behind!the!scenes.!!! ! The!trend!toward!nonKanimal,!humanKcentered!Performances!in!circuses!is!clear! worldwide.!!Currently,!there!are!national!bans!on!the!use!of!wild!animals!in!circuses!in! Austria,!China,!Costa!Rica,!Croatia,!Hungary,!Israel,!Paraguay,!Peru,!and!Singapore.!! Additionally,!national!legislation!has!been!enacted!banning!certain!sPecies!from!travelling! circuses!in!Belgium,!Czech!RePublic,!Denmark,!Estonia,!Finland,!India,!Malta,!Poland,! Portugal,!Slovakia,!and!Sweden.!!Significant!local!bans!have!been!implemented!across! Argentina,!Australia,!Brazil,!Canada,!Chile,!Colombia,!Ireland,!SPain,!and!the!UK.!Bolivia,! Bosnia!and!Herzegovina,!and!Greece!have!gone!so!far!as!to!prohibit!the!use!of!all!animals!in! circuses.!!The!UK!and!Scottish!Parliaments!have!committed!to!ban!nonKdomesticated! animals!in!traveling!circuses,!though!legislation!has!not!yet!been!Passed.!! ! Circuses!that!do!not!include!“dangerous!animal”!Performers!are!not!only!thriving,!but!on! the!rise.!!The!renowned!and!influential!notKforKProfit,!Big!ApPle!Circus!(based!in!New!York! City)!has!been!entertaining!audiences!for!more!than!a!decade!without!exotic!and!wild! animals.!!Research!by!Pace!University’s!Wilson!Center!for!Social!Entrepreneurship! indicates!that!when!the!Big!ApPle!Circus!eliminated!its!elePhants!from!the!show!in!2000,! the!nonKprofit’s!revenues!were!unaffected!through!2010.!!In!addition,!Cirque!du!Soleil!is! arguably!the!most!PoPular!circus!in!the!world!and!known!for!its!humanKonly!Performances.!! The!shows!employ!aPProximately!5,000!PeoPle!from!over!50!countries!and!generate!an! estimated!annual!revenue!exceeding!$810!million.!!Since!1984,!one!hundred!million!PeoPle! have!been!delighted!by!Cirque!worldwide!despite!the!fact!that!this!circus!has!no!animal! Performers.!!! ! The!decline!in!animal!circuses!aPPears!to!have!leveled!out!to!a!small!audience,!sustaining!a! handful!of!operations.!!Animal!Defense!International!has!found!that!as!animal!circuses! close,!the!trend!is!that!animalKfree!circuses!rePlace!them.!For!example,!between!1996!and! 2000,!the!number!of!UK!animal!circuses!Plunged!from!22!to!11,!while!the!number!of! animalKfree!circuses!rose!from!9!to!23.!!Even!zoos,!with!animal!trainers!who!have!advanced! degrees!in!wildlife!biology!are!acknowledging!that!they!are!not!able!to!Properly!care!for!the! physiological!and!behavioral!needs!of!elephants,!and!that!their!resources!would!be!better! spent!on!conservation!efforts!in!the!wild.!!To!date,!eighteen!zoos!have!closed!their!elephant! exhibits!and!four!are!phasing!out!their!exhibits,!including!the!Bronx!Zoo.!! ! ! II.!!ISSUES!WITH!“DANGEROUS”!WILD!ANIMALS!IN!ENTERTAINMENT! ! a. Traveling!Circuses!and!Animal!Confinement! ! Animals!used!in!circuses!may!travel!thousands!of!miles!a!year—often!nine!to!eleven! months!annually.!Throughout!travel,!they!are!confined!to!boxcars!and!trailers!and!often! have!no!access!to!basic!necessities,!such!as!food,!water,!and!veterinary!care.!Tigers!and! lions!usually!live!and!travel!in!cages!that!are!4’!x!7’!x!7’,!with!two!big!cats!crammed!into! ! 5! a!single!cage.!Big!cats,!bears,!and!Primates!are!forced!to!eat,!drink,!sleeP,!defecate,!and! urinate!in!the!same!cramped!cages.!!Constant!travel,!forced!inactivity,!and!long!hours! standing!on!hard!surfaces!in!their!own!waste!lead!to!serious!health!Problems!and!early! death!in!caPtive!elephants.!! ! When!circus!animals!are!traveling!in!cold!climate!regions!(such!as!New!York!in! February),!they!are!kePt!indoors!for!much!longer!Periods!and!thus!in!more!confined! sPaces.!!For!example,!elePhant!indoor!quarters!are!a!20’!x!20’!cubicle,!for!an!animal!that! is!in!constant!motion!in!the!wild.! ! Some!elePhants!sPend!most!of!their!lives!in!chains!(uP!to!20!consecutive!hours!at! Performance!venues!and!up!to!100!hours!continuously!when!traveling).!When!not!