Michael Sheen to David Cameron: It’s Time to Ban Wild Animals in Circuses

Actor Calls On British Prime Minister to Stop Trainers From Chaining and Beating Animals Into Performing

For Immediate Release:
July 13, 2015

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Masters of Sex star Michael Sheen sent a letter on behalf of PETA U.K. to British Prime Minister David Cameron this morning urging him to follow through on Parliament’s 2012 instructions to stop circuses in England and Wales from beating, chaining, caging, and otherwise abusing wild animals.

“As someone who comes from a family that has included circus performers myself, I would like to see us become a country where animals are treated with respect, not as objects of ridicule,” writes Sheen. “The British public clearly agree and have made their feelings on this issue clear. There is no longer any excuse for delaying the ban.”

Sheen has joined PETA U.K.—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—in pushing the government to allow only circuses that exclusively showcase willing human performers.

Michael Sheen’s letter is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.