PETA and SCIL Celebrate Success of California’s Animal Circus Ban

For Immediate Release:
May 20, 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 unanimously today by the California Senate:

California’s lawmakers are recognizing that no elephant should be chained in a parking lot, no tiger should be caged in a cramped trailer, and no camel should be whipped into performing tricks. A kinder California is on the way, and PETA looks forward to seeing this progressive bill advance through the State Assembly and be signed into law.

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

Circuses that use animals are cruel and represent a threat to public safety. Jurisdictions around the world have banned these types of shows, and polling shows that the majority of Californians support this progressive move in our state.

PETA—which opposes speciesism (a human-supremacist view of the world) 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.

The Circus Cruelty Prevention Act was authored by Sen. Ben Hueso.

More information about circuses that use animals is available here.