With reference to the feature on December 13, regarding the symbolic protest activity organised by the Circus Animal Rights Coalition the day before, we would like to strongly contest the untruthful claim made by Silvio Zammit, from JS Productions, that the coalition has forced schoolchildren to sign the petition against the use of animals in circuses. Not only have schoolchildren not been forced to sign the petition, but such collection of signatures has only been carried out through a process of informed consent and awareness on the reality of animal circuses.

Furthermore, the coalition would like to highlight the fact that in contrast to what Mr Zammit is claiming, attendance by schoolchildren at animal circuses is definitely on the decline this year, due to the greater awareness that animal circuses are anti-educational and counter to any consistent animal welfare education that is promoted by schools.

The coalition would also like to point out that Mr Zammit has a clear interest in negating the animal welfare issues put forward by the Circus Animal Rights Coalition since his main interests are clearly those of generating profit from animal exploitation activities. Conversely, the Circus Animal Rights Coalition is made up of voluntary organisations whose sole concern is the promotion of animal welfare.