Environment, Food and Rural Affairs CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Trading Standards Institute
(1) TSI welcomes the opportunity to comment on the draft Wild Animals in Circuses Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny before it is formally introduced to Parliament.
(2) It is understood that the Government’s position is that there is insufficient evidence of irredeemable welfare problems in travelling circuses with wild animals to justify a ban on welfare grounds under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. On 1 March 2012 the Government set out its policy on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses and stated its intent to pursue a ban on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses.
(3) In the absence of any compelling scientific evidence, to ban the use of an animal using the delegated powers provided by the Animal Welfare Act would likely fail the test of proportionality and so the Government now intends to introduce primary legislation. As the process of introducing new primary legislation takes time, the Government has introduced interim Welfare Regulations, aimed at protecting wild animals which stay in travelling circuses in the short term. To date, two circuses have been licensed under these Regulations.
(4) TSI believes that Government policy and any final Bill must continue to give transparency and confidence to the public regarding animal welfare in these circumstances.
(5) TSI welcomes the news that circus operators will be given until 01 December 2015 to remove any wild animals from their circus before it becomes an offence under the Bill to use a wild animal in a travelling circus. Whilst giving a grace period this will allow alternative arrangements for any animals to be made, without requiring any change of ownership of a wild animal or otherwise amounting to a deprivation of a possession, and as such is more likely compatible the European convention on human rights. The welfare of any circus animals must, in the meantime, be ensured under the interim measures.
(6) It is noted that the draft Bill extends to England and Wales only. However, the offence of using a wild animal in a travelling circus in the draft Bill applies only in England. The Scottish Government has indicated a wish to consult before extending the Bill to Scotland. The Welsh Government has indicated a wish to consider the implications of the introduction of a ban. Northern Ireland has not yet developed a position on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses.
(7) TSI is firmly of the opinion, given the travelling nature of circuses, that enforcement would be simpler and more effective if the legislation extended throughout all the countries of the United Kingdom. Clause 1 subsection (1) sets out the central prohibition in the draft Bill which provides that circus operators are no longer allowed to use wild animals in their travelling circus in England (only). TSI would urge Defra to speak with counterparts in the Devolved Administrations about the territorial scope of any final Bill. Without such agreement from the Devolved Administrations inevitable problems with enforcement and application are likely to ensue.
(8) The Schedule to the Bill makes provision for the appointment of “inspectors” and specifies the powers and duties of those inspectors when exercising powers of entry, inspection or search. There is no detail provided as to whom such “inspectors” will be, although it is suggested in the commentary that it will be a public sector inspector.
(9) TSI accepts, given the small scale of the industry and the visibility of any operator seeking to contravene the ban, that changes in public sector expenditure or manpower as a result of the Wild Animals in Circuses Bill will be small. TSI agrees, based on the evidence presented, that the proposals appear to be a low cost regulatory measure.
(10) However, the trading standards service is already under severe pressure and even a negligible increase in workload arising from the Bill would need to be carefully managed and considered.
May 2013