|
Circus Zoological Society - NEWS | ||||
|
AWARD FOR BRITISH TRAINER - British animal trainer Alex Lacey has just won a Chapiteau de Cristal and the prize of the Musee du Cirque et de I'Illusion at the Massy International Circus Festival in France for his thrilling group of mixed tigers, lionesses and a lion. He is the brother of Martin Lacey junior who was adjudged the overall winner at this year's Monte Carlo Circus Festival, Owing to their skill and rapport with their animals, these young men are now considered the world's foremost wild animal trainers. Now in its 18th year, the Massy festival is the most important event of its kind in France. It always includes animal acts and this year besides the big cats, liberty horses, camels and elephants from the Circus Charles Knie were featured, shown by Marek Jama. Brilliant photographic coverage of the festival at: www.aucirque.com |
|||||
| THREE ANIMAL ACTS were among the winners at the recent Monte Carlo Circus Festival. Martin Lacey Junior became the first British Gold Clown winner in the history of this prestigious event for his act of eleven lions including three white lions. He had already won a Silver Clown (in 2000) as have his mother and brother. His father runs the Great British Circus in the UK. Roland and Petra Duss won a Silver Clown for their sealion act and elephant trainer Sonny Frankello won a Bronze Clown. |
 |
||||
|
WILD CIRCUS ANIMALS CONSULTATION
- DEFRA the government department responsible for animal
welfare has launched a consultation exercise on how best to
safeguard the welfare of wild animals in travelling circuses. It
wants to know whether it should impose a complete ban on the use of
wild animals, or introduce either a statutory or voluntary
regulatory system. This would apply to travelling circuses in
England only (not Scotland or Wales) The consultation will end in
March but the conclusion is unlikely to become law before the next
general election. Anyone with views on the subject can take part
at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/circus-wild-animals/ CIRCUS BEATS ELEPHANT CRUELTY CLAIM - In Washington Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has defeated a lawsuit accusing it of abusing its Asian elephants including chaining and the use of hooks. Attorneys for Feld Entertainment, Ringling's parent company, said the animals were safe, well-treated and healthy. Judge Emmet Sullivan said a former Ringling employee, Tom Rider, who had brought the suit together with the Animal Protection Institute, did not have legal standing to sue the circus under the Endangered Species Act. He also questioned Rider's credibility, finding that he had been paid tens of thousands of dollars by the Institute and other animal rights groups over the years. Elephants have been part of the Ringling Circus since 1872. It currently owns 54 Asian elephants, the largest group of captive animals in the United States. ZOO PERSONALITY DIES - Graham Lucas, one of the zoo world's best known personalities and a founder member of the Circus Zoological Society has died at the age of 67. He started work at Whipsnade in 1961 and eventually became the Information Officer. He became known to thousands of visitors by giving talks alongside the animal enclosures as well as manning the information kiosk. He was also the Whipsnade archivist and dealt with enquiries about the famous zoo from all over the world. RARE CUBS BORN IN ZOO - Two Asian lion cubs have been born in London Zoo - the first for a decade. The 10 week-old as-yet-unamed cats are the son and daughter of Lucifer, six, and Abi (10) who was the last Asian lion to be born in the zoo, in 1999. There are fewer than 300 Asian lions in the wild and they are classied as critically endangered by the the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) |
|||||
| ANIMAL RIGHTS PARTY BOMB IN THE POLLS - An animal rights party 'Animals Count' polled just 0.8% of the total votes cast in the Eastern England region of the recent European parliamentary elections, where it fielded three candidates. This little known but radical party was founded in 2006 by the Education Manager for the World Society for the Protection of Animals, Jasmijn de Boo. 'Animals Count' is opposed to performances with wild animals in circuses and zoos. This runs counter to the Lisbon Treaty which specifically allows for practices that respect cultural and traditional views - the first circus was an equestrian display presented in London in 1768. | |||||
|
THERE ARE PREVIOUS NEWS ITEMS IN OUR NEWS ARCHIVE |
|||||