Stop Circus Suffering

Rt Hon David Cameron MP
Prime Minister’s Office
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA

Dear Mr Cameron,

We, the undersigned, are concerned that since the Government announced its intention to ban the use of wild animals in circuses in March 2012 and following the publication of the Draft Wild Animals in Circuses Bill last April, little progress appears to have been made to bring this widely supported and long overdue restriction into law.

The continued use of wild animals in circuses is widely opposed by vets, animal welfare experts, animal protection groups, politicians and a huge majority of the public. Indeed, Defra’s own public opinion survey found that 94.5% support restrictive legislation on this issue. Introducing the ban in the Draft Bill, the Government notes, “There is little or no educational, conservational, research or economic benefit derived from wild animals in travelling circuses that might justify their use and the loss of their ability to behave naturally as a wild animal.”

In light of the Government’s commitment and the overwhelming opposition against the use of wild animals in travelling circuses, we urge you to personally ensure that the ban is swiftly passed ahead of the General Election in 2015, to ensure that the planned implementation date of 1 December 2015 is met.

Yours sincerely

Animal Defenders International

Brian Blessed
June Brown
Julian Clary
Judi Dench
Lynsey De Paul
Peter Egan
Ben Goldsmith
Eddie Izzard
Stanley Johnson
Bruce Kent
Gillian McKeith
Moby
Julie Peasgood
Mark Radcliffe
Carol Royle
Alexei Sayle
Prunella Scales
Jenny Seagrove
Michaela Strachan
Peter Tatchell
Anthea Turner
Wendy Turner-Webster
Gary Webster
Dominic West
Timothy West
Anne Widdecombe
Benjamin Zephaniah

Dave Anderson MP
Hugh Bayley MP
Clive Betts MP
Annette Brooke MP
Ronnie Campbell MP
Katy Clark MP
Vernon Coaker MP
David Crausby MP
Tracey Crouch MP
Alex Cunningham MP
Nic Dakin MP
Jim Dobbin MP
Jim Dowd MP
Mark Durkan MP
Maria Eagle MP
Jim Fitzpatrick MP
Robert Flello
Paul Flynn MP
Sir Roger Gale MP
Mike Gapes MP
Roger Godsiff MP
John Hemming MP
Martin Horwood MP
Glenda Jackson MP
Cathy Jamieson MP
Mark Lazarowicz MP
John Leech MP
Elfyn Llwyd MP
Naomi Long MP
Dr Caroline Lucas MP
Kerry McCarthy MP
Catherine McKinnell MP
John McDonnell MP
Gordon Marsden MP
Andrew Miller
Graeme Morrice MP
Grahame Morris MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Sir Bob Russell MP
Adrian Sanders MP
Gavin Shuker MP
Angela Smith MP
Henry Smith MP
Gerry Sutcliffe MP
Justin Tomlinson MP
Roger Williams MP
Sammy Wilson MP
Chris Williamson MP