The MSPCA-Angell’s long-term commitment to protecting wild and exotic animals in circuses and shows hit a new milestone this summer. Governor Maura Healey signed a bill to prohibit the use of elephants, big cats, primates, giraffes, and bears in traveling acts into law in August 2024.
In 1918, the MSPCA formed the Jack London Club (see inset), the country’s first organization dedicated to banning the use of performing animals (then in theaters and vaudeville houses). The club was free, and members were urged to walk out of any performance where animals were used for amusement. This early work was the precursor to efforts today, such as this new state law.
The MSPCA-Angell has consistently advocated for animals who are used for entertainment and in traveling acts. Animal welfare is a concern, and these acts also pose a safety risk. Wild and exotic animals in traveling shows are subjected to long periods of travel and have little to no opportunities to engage in natural behaviors. Also, hundreds of people have been injured by exotic animals used in circuses and traveling shows. There are concerns from a public health perspective, too; elephants, for example, carry tuberculosis, a zoonotic disease that can spread through the air.
In September 2019, an elephant named Beulah, who was being exhibited at The Big E Fair in West Springfield, collapsed and died of septicemia from pyometra, a painful uterine infection. Beulah was born in the wild in 1967, captured as a baby at the age of 6, and sold to the Commerford Zoo (which has been cited by the USDA over 50 times for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act).
Many circuses are now animal-free, following Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s example when it stopped using animals in 2017. And data shows that fairs that don’t have exotic animals can be as profitable as those that do.
More than 40 countries, ten other U.S. states, and more than 200 localities have passed legislation addressing the abuse of wild or exotic animals in circuses. This includes 15 Massachusetts municipalities, which helped create awareness and build momentum for this achievement.
While it is too late to help Beulah, closing the state to these harmful and outdated acts ensures that Massachusetts no longer participates in the cruel exotic animal acts industry.
For more information on our advocacy work and how you can get involved, visit mspca.org/advocacy.
