A circus 'can't operate' without animals says councillor

The question of whether circuses should be banned from using wild animals divided opinion at the March meeting of Mullingar Municipal District.

Cllr Una D’Arcy asked the council to support the ISPCA’s The Big Stop campaign, which is calling for a complete ban on the use of wild animals such as lions and elephants in circuses.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr D’Arcy said that using wild animals for our entertainment “belongs to a different time”.

She also said that video footage and photographs of a Dutch circus parading three elephants through the centre of Mullingar last month generated “very bad publicity for the town” and created a “huge backlash”.

“Animals are not here to entertain us, there is no conservation or educational benefit to using wild animals in circuses,” she said.

Cllr Ken Glynn supported Cllr D’Arcy’s proposal. He said there “was absolute uproar” after the circus walked the elephants through Mullingar to promote its shows.

However, Cllr Mick Dollard was one of a number of councillors who disagreed with Cllr D’Arcy noting that the council has “more important issues” to deal with.

“How can a circus operate without wild animals. They operate all over the world, what harm do they do?”

Cllr Frank McDermott, who also said that he didn’t agree with Cllr D’Arcy’s viewpoint, said that generations of rural children would never have seen an exotic wild animal if it wasn’t for circuses.

The new chairman of Mullingar Municipal District, Cllr Andrew Duncan, said that the members present would have to vote on whether the council should publicly support the ISPCA’s campaign.

Cllrs D’Arcy, Glynn and Clarke voted in favour, while cllrs Dollard and McDermott voted against. Cllrs Duncan, Penrose, Shaw and Whitney abstained from the vote, which was passed three to two.