Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner wants to ban a number of wild animals from circus arenas. As a result, large animals should no longer be kept under unsuitable conditions. Only the Federal Council has to approve her plan – but the minister has also received strong criticism.
Tomorrow, Friday, the Federal Council will deal with the new regulations on animal welfare, which go back to a proposal by Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU). So far, the regulation stipulates that giraffes, elephants, rhinos, hippos, primates and big bears may no longer be purchased. In traveling circuses in particular, the animals suffered from constant travel and often from unsuitable conditions.
Ban already in force in several EU countries
According to the ministry, the keeping of all circus animals should also be reorganized – this includes, for example, accommodation, expert care, the treatment of sick or injured animals, means of transport and the limitation of the duration of transport. The reason given was that the majority of the member states of the European Union had now also banned or at least severely restricted the display of animals of wild species in circuses.
The planned ban on wild animals in circuses does not go far enough for several state department heads. It only affects newly purchased animals and does not apply to big cats, seals and reptiles, criticized the Justice Senators from Berlin and Hamburg, Anna Gallina and Dirk Behrendt, as well as the Hessian Environment Minister Priska Hinz (all Greens). “There is no question that it is not possible to keep lions appropriately in the circus, for example,” said a joint statement.
Julia Klöckner’s “unambitious” design
It is also incomprehensible that only the display of animals is prohibited, but not their keeping. “The submitted draft is unambitious and not enough,” it said. The planned ban on wild animals in traveling circuses should therefore be extended by the Federal Council. The Environment Committee of the Länderkammer recommends that seals and reptiles also be included in the ban. First the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” reported on the topic.
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