Did you know there is nothing stopping a circus that uses wild animals starting up in Australia?
It was only a few short years ago when Stardust Circus was hauling lions and monkeys across the country forcing them to perform tricks for ‘entertainment’. So while currently there are no wild animal circuses in Australia, there is nothing legally preventing one from operating.
We can’t let this happen.
Sign this petition to make sure circuses with wild animals are illegal across the country.
Wild animal circuses are cruel, outdated, and have no place in modern Australia. Forcing animals such as lions, tigers and monkeys to perform unnatural tricks under bright lights, loud noises, and stressful conditions is cruel and must be relegated to the history books.
Over 50 countries worldwide, including the UK, France, and Mexico, have legislated against wild animals in circuses but Australia has fallen behind. Our current laws do not reflect international standards or meet public expectations.
So far, 40 local councils across Australia have listened to the community and banned the use of wild animals in circuses on council land. But yet there is no federal legislation that prohibits the importation of wild animals for the purposes of ‘entertainment’, and except for the ACT, no state legislation that prohibits circuses with wild animals from operating.
Sign the petition to tell both state and federal governments that Australians do not accept the exploitation of wild animals for ‘entertainment’.
Let’s close this legal loophole and ensure that no wild animal will ever suffer in an Australian circus ever again.
Animals Deserve Better
In the wild, lions live in complex family and social structures, they roam widely across vast territories - they hunt, they play, they explore and they run free.
In a circus lions have no opportunity to exhibit any of their natural behaviours. Trapped in performing circuses they suffer from extreme confinement, harsh training methods, and constant transportation, all of which cause immense physical and psychological distress.
A circus can never meet the welfare needs of wild animals.
FOUR PAWS has a long history of fighting against the exploitation of wild animals in circuses - we work systemically by getting legislation in place that bans the use of wild animal in circuses and rescuing and providing sanctuary to lions and tigers who have spent a life of misery in a travelling circus.
We need your help to send a strong message to the government that Australians do not accept the use of wild animals for ‘entertainment’.
Image credit: © FOUR PAWS | Aaron Gekoski | Fred Dott