Russia started an investigation into the Kazan circus after two elephants, Jenny and Magda, started fighting during a show. The elephants landed in an area where there were visitors.
We’re talking to Tim Phillips, vice-president of the animal welfare organization Animal Defenders International, about Jenny and Magda, the abuse animals suffer in circuses and why more and more countries are moving towards a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses.
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My city in California banned circuses 7 years ago, but I don’t remember seeing any circuses here for more than 10 years. California as a state banned circuses in 2019. We have stricter animal-related laws in California than in most of the states. We also have much stricter emissions/pollution and earth-saving laws and measures here. The majority of the rest of the U.S. states need to step up.
With Biden in office, we have a chance to reverse all of the laws Trump signed in the last four years that reversed all of the good that Obama did. Trophy hunting, animal parts trading, and The Big Cat Rescue Act to end private ownership of big cats are just a few of the laws that need intense focus.