California’s Animal Circus Ban Bill Passes—PETA, SCIL Celebrate

For Immediate Release:
September 9, 2019

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Below, please find a statement from PETA Foundation Deputy Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Rachel Mathews regarding Senate Bill 313, the Circus Cruelty Prevention Act, approved today by the California Assembly 56-11:

Animals aren’t photo props, they don’t belong on a carnival midway, and they’re not willing participants in circuses, so PETA looks forward to seeing Sen. Ben Hueso’s bill become law and the days of dragging beleaguered camels and caged tigers across California come to an end.

Please also find a statement from Social Compassion in Legislation’s (SCIL) founder and president, Judie Mancuso:

Once again, we received huge support for vital legislation that will save animals from torture and death. Public demand for cruelty-free circuses is growing nationwide, and today, California moved one step closer to completely banning the inhumane use of animals in circuses.

Please also find a statement from the bill’s author, Sen. Ben Hueso:

California is the wildlife state. Its topography and climate have produced an amazing diversity of habitat and a diverse array of both plant and animal species—more than any other state in the U.S. There is no need here, or anywhere, to support traveling animal acts that take these precious creatures out of their natural habitat and place them in dangerous conditions. I thank my colleagues in the Assembly for stepping up to move us one step closer to banning these shows statewide and ending these animals’ suffering once and for all.

PETA—which opposes speciesism (a human-supremacist worldview) and whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—and SCIL, a vanguard voice sponsoring landmark legislation for animals, are sponsors of SB 313. Both groups helped with much of the research, legislative language, and expert testimonies, in addition to generating support from other organizations. Lily Tomlin, Lucy Davis, Joaquin Phoenix, and numerous other stars have all joined PETA’s campaign in support of the ban.

More information about circuses that use animals is available here.