In 2017, Illinois and New York became the first states in the U.S. to ban circus elephant acts. This means that any circus that still uses elephants can no longer perform anywhere in the entire state of Illinois or of New York. Now in 2018, New Jersey is poised to take a step further, and completely ban the use of any exotic animals in circuses, including elephants, tigers, lions, and bears.
All animals suffer terribly in the circus industry, especially large and intelligent species like elephants. They lead lives of sadness, constant fear, and despair. The bill to ban circus use of exotic animals passed the New Jersey legislature by votes of 66-2-2 in the General Assembly and by 31-0 in the State Senate. Unfortunately, outgoing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie decided to “pocket veto” the bill, which means that he declined to sign it before leaving office.
But now New Jersey has a new governor, and therefore renewed hope to end circus suffering! A new revised circus bill is being drafted in the state legislature, and will be presented to new governor Phil Murphy for his approval. Please join me in asking Governor Murphy to sign this very important bill into law. The state of New Jersey can lead the way to end circus suffering for all exotic animals in the United States!
Sign the petition to ban circus use of exotic animals in New Jersey!
Featured image: elephants forced to perform in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (now closed down) in Trenton, New Jersey in 2006. Credit mtstradling, CC BY-NC 2.0
