Circus campaign rolls through Ireland

national | animal rights | press release Tuesday March 07, 2006 20:49 by Amanda Kelly - Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) arancampaigns at eircom dot net ARAN Po Box 722, Kildare, Ireland 087-6275579

ARAN steps up nationwide circus campaign

7 March 2006

This week campaigners from Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) will be at stalls in Belfast, Dublin, Limerick and Clare urging locals to help bring about the end of animal circuses.

A giant ADI/ARAN billboard van will be touring Ireland highlighting the suffering of circus animals as part of an ongoing Irish campaign, which has already attracted much attention.

The campaign billboard will be stopping at the following locations and times:

Belfast
Date: Tuesday, 7 March 2006
Time: 12 noon
Location: City Hall, off Royal Avenue

Dublin
Date: Wednesday, 8 March 2006
Time: 12 noon
Location: Arts Council, 70 Merrion Square, Dublin 2

Limerick
Date: Thursday, 9 March 2006
Time: 12 noon
Location: O’Connell Street, opposite Brown Thomas, Limerick

Clare
Date: Thursday, 9 March 2006
Time: 2.15pm
Location: Knockanean Primary School, County Clare

The campaign to end the use of animals in circuses has disclosed that around 150 animals are touring Ireland with travelling circuses. Many of these endure severe confinement in deprived and unnatural environments, inadequate diets and physical abuse.

Tim Phillips, Campaigns Director of ADI, says: “Travelling from place to place, week after week, and setting up on what land is available, animal circuses can never adequately meet the needs of the animals in their care. Circus animals are forced to live in temporary accommodation and regularly endure long journeys. And then there is the culture of violence that we have so often caught on video. We are asking to stop the beatings, confinement and deprivation.”

John Carmody, National Events Organiser, ARAN, announced: “ADI and ARAN hope that this campaign will bring an end the use of animals in circuses in Ireland. We will be distributing leaflets and a report that reveals for the first time the extent of circus suffering in Ireland.”

An October 2005 MORI opinion poll commissioned by ADI showed that public opinion echoes the views of the campaign:

80% say ban all wild animal circus acts.
65% say ban all animal circus acts.
90% against whipping and beating when training circus animals.
_____________________________ENDS _____________________________
For further information, film footage/ photographs, please contact:
In the UK, the ADI Press Office:
Allison Tuffrey Jones/ Abigail Girling
Tel: 020 8563 0250 / 020 8846 9777
Mob: 07785 552548
Email: pr@ad-international.org

Or in Ireland, ARAN:
John Carmody,
National Events Organiser, Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN),
PO Box 722, Kildare, Ireland
Tel: +353 87 62 75579
www.aran.ie
Email: arancampaigns@eircom.net

NOTES TO EDITORS
* Nearly 300 local authorities in the UK have banned animal circuses from their land. Around Europe many cities from Croatia to Patras in Greece have banned animal acts. Globally, Singapore, Costa Rica and Bogota in Colombia have all banned wild animal acts from circuses after reviewing ADI evidence.

* Due to undercover video evidence from ADI, Moyle District Council continues to ban animal circuses from council grounds as it does not endorse the extreme cruelty and suffering inflicted upon circus animals.

Animal Defenders International (ADI)
With offices in London and San Francisco, Animal Defenders International (ADI) is a major international campaigning group, working to protect animals.

ADI has campaigns currently running in the UK, Europe, USA, and South America. Our evidence has been used in Costa Rica and Singapore to secure national prohibitions on the use of wild animals in circuses.

Nearly 300 local authorities in the UK have banned all animal acts on council land.

A six-year campaign by ADI secured new regulations in over 160 countries concerning the cross border movements of endangered species with animal circuses.

ADI has rescued and relocated a number of circus animals including: lions, tigers, horses, dogs, a python and chimpanzees.
http://www.ad-international.org

Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN)
ARAN is a grassroots voice that is speaking out against all forms of cruelty to animals. We work with many national and international animal protection groups and actively support international campaigns for animal rights along with working to encourage activisim among the public and volunteers alike. ARAN will be promoting the new ‘Stop Circus Suffering’ video throughout Ireland.