Malta should not allow circuses to use animals, Alternattiva Demokratika said this morning.

Chairman Michael Briguglio told a news conference that while AD acknowledged circuses as sites of entertainment, they should not be allowed to use animals, due to the exploitation involved.

AD's election in Parliament, he said, would ensure that a bill is passed to ban the use of animals in circuses.

Greece recently became the first European country to ban all animals in circuses and the UK government unanimously passed legislation which would lead to the banning of wild animals in circuses.

Other European countries, including Austria, Portugal, Denmark and Croatia, either banned or were phasing out the use of wild animals in circuses.

Outside Europe, countries including Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay and China, also banned such circuses, and the USA was considering legislation. Various city councils around the world have also banned animal circuses.

Animal welfare spokesman Simon Galea said circus animals were made to perform unnatural tricks most of which followed a long cruel training process.

Other factors contributing for such a life of misery included constant travelling and confinement in small spaces.

“It is unethical to permit these practices and use of animals in circuses should be banned for good,” he said.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.