Going for Gold but not in Kilmarnock.

 

Just when you thought that things could not get any worse for circuses in the United Kingdom we now have the famous Zippos Circus announcing that it will be its last time performing on council land in Kilmarnock, Scotland. This is due to the fact that East Ayrshire Council has decided to ban all circuses with animals from its land. 

Despite the inspections and reports from the SPCA (see video at the foot of this blog) and veterinarians finding no welfare problems, this council, like many others has fallen foul of the insipid black propaganda of the animal-rights lobby including Scotland’s answer to PeTA, the self-styled Onelife group.  An organisation with an agenda going well beyond the welfare of animals in circus with it’s recent “survey” on pet ownership that should ring alarm bells for all pet owners in Scotland.

As many readers will know, the UK government's DEFRA plans to implement a licensing system to protect wild animals in UK circuses, which will include codified welfare regulations. Ministers have stated that they aim to ban all these animals from appearing at some future date for “ethical reasons” as the scientific research they commissioned in 2007  ironically could not find any reason to ban these performances on the grounds of animal welfare.

However, perhaps the most shocking thing about the ban in Kilmarnock is that Zippos do not present wild animals in their performance, but only have domestic animals, primarily horses.  This begs the question as to what would be the fate of any events or exhibitions taking place on this council’s land that involved domestic animals such as gymkhanas, dog and other pet shows.

Meanwhile, as this draconian ban is taking place in Kilmarnock, public displays of horse training and other equine skills are being watched and applauded by the world in the London 2012 Olympics, where training methods and accommodation are very much the same or identical to that of a professionally-run circus.

The SPCA inspection to Zippos Circus edited from the STV series "Animals 999".

Via: OnlineSchools.org
Astley's Legacy was formed to counter the misinformation and propaganda spread by animal rights activists. As well as fighting the corner for circus animals and their trainers, we are here to promote and celebrate the cultural heritage of circus in general, and especially in the country of its birth - Great Britain. For more information please see our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/223570581049199