Campaigners including comedian Ricky Gervais and actor Brian Blessed on Friday called for a ban on using wild animals in circuses.
The renewed effort came after the UK government failed to ban the practice yesterday, despite public and cross-party support.
The row over wild animals in circuses was reignited after undercover footage emerged in March of a 59-year-old circus elephant called Anne being beaten with a pitchfork in a small metal compound.
Charity Animal Defenders International (ADI) has enlisted celebrity support in writing an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to reconsider.
Mr Gervais said: “Animal Defenders International’s recent footage of Anne the elephant being beaten graphically displays why the government should ban wild animals in circuses. I am appalled that wild animals are still kept in circuses and fully support the call for a ban. It is high time that the government got on and implemented one.
Arthritic Anne, owned by Bobby Roberts Super Circus in Nor-thamptonshire, is now living at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire to see out her days in a 13-acre paddock.
Long-time animal rights campaigner Mr Blessed said: “The government needs to do the honourable thing and implement a ban as soon as possible to prevent further animal suffering. We have presented them with strong evidence and it is now time for them to get on with it and ban the use of wild animals in circuses – period.”
Yesterday, Agriculture Minister Jim Paice insisted that a new system of regulation would cause circuses to avoid using wild animals because of the expense.
He does not want an outright ban because it could contravene the Human Rights Act.
Mr Paice said: “Any ban on travelling circuses would be vulnerable to a legal challenge both from a circus in another (European) member state on the basis it contravened the services directive... and from both European and UK-based circuses under the Human Rights Act.”
Other celebrities backing ADI’s campaign are Queen guitarist Brian May and poet Benjamin Zephaniah.
It said a survey carried out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last year revealed 94.5 per cent of the public would support a ban.