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Despite the growing number of people who oppose the use of wild animals in circuses, they continue to be exploited as unwilling performers for profit and entertainment in the U.S. Urge Congress to reintroduce the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act to end this cruelty across the country once and for all.

Even though we have plenty of evidence showing how physically and psychologically harmful continuing this practice is for wild animals, including some of the world's most iconic and endangered species, they continue to suffer in traveling circuses where they're denied everything they need to thrive.

They're forced to endure the stress of confinement, isolation, long-distance travel, and are also subjected to abusive training practices to coerce them into performing ridiculous, unnatural, and uncomfortable tricks.

Not only is continuing to allow their use in circuses harmful to them, it poses a serious threat to public safety. Over the years numerous animals, handlers, and members of the public, including children, have been injured and killed, and there's also the threat of spreading zoonotic diseases.

While there are full or partial restrictions on the use of wild animals in more than half of the states in the U.S., federal legislation is desperately needed to address this issue; the mobile nature of circuses makes already inefficient oversight and enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) essentially impossible.

As previously introduced, the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act (TEAPSPA) would amend the AWA to ban traveling circuses and exhibitions from keeping a number of wild and exotic animals, including big cats and elephants, among many others.

Letter to Decision Maker(s) for reference:

Decision maker: US senators and representatives

Subject: Reintroduce and Pass the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act (TEAPSPA)

As someone who is concerned with animal welfare and public safety and one of over 250,000 In Defense of Animals supporters, I’m writing to ask you to support the reintroduction and passage of the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act (TEAPSPA).
 
Even though we have plenty of evidence to show how physically and psychologically harmful exploiting wild animals for entertainment in circuses is, some of the world’s most iconic and endangered species, including lions, tigers, and elephants, are still forced to endure extreme confinement, denied opportunities to engage in natural behaviors, are coerced into performing ridiculous and unnatural tricks through fear and intimidation and subjected to heartbreaking abuses.
 
Not only does their continued use in circuses pose a significant welfare issue for them, but it also poses an ongoing threat to public safety as demonstrated by numerous serious incidents involving the deaths of animals and handlers and injuries to members of the public, including children, that have occurred over the years.
 
Their continued use in circuses also undermines conservation efforts and the message that many of the species used are at risk of disappearing from the wild.
 
While dozens of cities and states across the country have acted to ban or restrict the use of wild and exotic animal performers, federal legislation is desperately needed to address this issue nationwide — especially because the mobile nature of circuses complicates already costly and inefficient oversight by making it virtually impossible to monitor animals, enforce the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and act on violations.
 
As previously introduced, TEAPSPA would address this issue by amending the AWA to prohibit traveling circuses and exhibitions from keeping a number of wild animals, including big cats and elephants. Not only will it protect animals and us, but it will also save taxpayer money.
 
It’s a tragedy that this legislation has been introduced multiple times but has yet to be passed. I sincerely hope you will support the reintroduction and passage of this landmark legislation and end the suffering of wild animals in circuses for good.

Sincerely,

Signed

This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.