Animal Rights Coalition demands outright ban on animal circuses

Members of the Animal Rights Coalition have called for a full ban on animal circuses, as well as dolphinaria and acquaria.

Myriam Kirkmond of the ARC said that the White Paper on animal circuses only included a ban on wild animals and left the door open for circuses that included domestic animals.

"The White Paper is unclear and does not fulfil people's expectations. Circuses including domestic animals may still operate, in spite of the physical and psychological constraints they impose on the animals' rights and wellbeing," Kirkmond said this evening.

Asked whether the Coalition seeks to exhaust any remedies in order to ensure the outright ban on all animal circuses, Kirkmond said that the Coalition "does not exclude anything."

The Coalition spokeswoman also said that it is unjust to deny dolphins the right to roam free in their natural habitat and called for the ban on dolphinariums as these restrict the creatures to a mere pool.

Volunteer Francesca Saliba also said that this extends to acquaria as, animals are likewise being "confined to cages and restricted from roaming in their natural habitat."

The Animal Rights Coalition also said two civil society members it had nominated to sit on the animal welfare council, on invitation by the government, were not appointed to the council.

"The two representatives democratically elected by Animal Welfare Groups have always formed part of the Council but since its inception, the current Council has denied these representatives their lawful place."

"At a time when it is of utmost importance to address a number of issues pertinent to the wellbeing of animals, it is imperative for these representatives to be given their rightful place on the Animal Welfare Council," she stressed

Kirkmond said that the representatives have no voting rights and can only sit as observers.

"We cannot propose any new rules and have been denied our lawful place on the committee," she said.

Kirkmond argued that consequently, the current Animal Welfare Council is illegally set up as the law dictates that it should also include two persons representing the interest of Animal Welfare Groups.

On the other hand, Coalition spokeswoman Miriam Williams bemoaned the circuses in general, saying they solely operate to maximise profits while completely disregarding the safety of the animals and the adverse effects they may impose.

Williams also explained that veterinarians only attend to the animal's physical needs and as a result, the psychological issues brought about by the circuses are not being addressed.

"Animals in captivity suffer not only physically due to their continuous traveling, but moreover, they are influenced psychologically due to their stress and enclosed spaces."

On zoos and the captivity of unregistered wild animals, the ARC said they should be banned or regulated by the Maltese authorities.

"Overseas zoos are only allowed to operate if they serve maximise the animals' population through conservation programmes," Williams said.

She said a number of wild and exotic animals imported into Malta, as pets are being housed in substandard conditions and treated as exhibits in unregistered zoos, some of which accept visitors and advertise on social media.

On hunting and trapping, the Coalition said that political parties are using hunting as a leverage to garner more votes while hunters are threatening party policies by withholding their votes.

The members of the coalition are: Association for Abandoned Animals (AAA), Alternattiva Demokratika, Ananda Marga Malta, Animal Rights Group, Centru Tbexbix, CSAF, Funny Farm, Graffiti, Greenhouse Malta, Island Sanctuary, National Cat Society, Nature Trust, Noah's Ark, PCAP, St Francis Foundation, Stray Animals Support Group (SASG), SPCA Malta, Vegan World Network Malta, World Animal Conscience, Youth for the Environment.