Council nixes circus ban

The circus will go ahead as planned in Gander, despite a motion put forward at last Wednesday's council meeting that could have prevented circuses with animals from using town facilities.

Coun. Doug Foley introduced a motion at the May 19 council meeting because of his concerns over the treatment of animals travelling with circus groups such as Cirque Estival, which is scheduled to perform at the Gander Community Centre on June 22.

"I'm not of the opinion that these animals, which certainly aren't indigenous to Newfoundland and Labrador, are put on this Earth for humans to gawk at. They suffer, and that's a basic fact. I have a fundamental problem with the circus, and I can't just sit by, contract or no contract, and say that's okay."

According to town manager Jake Turner, the contract signed with Cirque Estival required 60 days notice from the Town if the event was to be cancelled.

Deputy Mayor Zane Tucker said cancelling the event would cost the Town revenue, and more significantly, could have left it susceptible to a possible lawsuit.

"I hate circuses, and I will not be bringing my young son when he's old enough to the circus, but I don't know if it's my role as a councillor to tell people what they are or are not allowed to see," he said. "If these events aren't supported, they'll just go away."

Coun. Foley was of a differing opinion.

"The people who are for an animal circus, really when it comes down to it, it doesn't impact their feelings on it. They don't care if the circus comes or not. It's not going to be the end of the world to them. People who are opposed to the circus, it breaks their hearts, and someone has to represent those people. We've got a lot of people

complaining, and our jobs as councillors is to represent those people."

Based out of Montreal, Cirque Estival is in its seventh year of operations. According to its website, the circus group "makes it a point of honour to insure (sic) its animals have the best life experience during their touring," which add up to 10 weeks each year.

When not travelling, the animals stay at the Bowmanville Zoo in Bowmanville, Ont. The zoo is a member of the Canadian Association of Zoos.

Town bans

Earlier this month, the Town of Marystown elected to adopt a bylaw banning the use of animals for human entertainment. Cirque Estival will still perform in the community on July 1, but will no longer be able to perform there going forward.

Coun. Nicole Lanning, like the deputy mayor, was hesitant to leave the Town open to becoming sued.

"I totally agree with from this year forward not bringing the circus here, but I don't agree with us having a lawsuit on our hands because we cancel a soundtrack."

Mayor Claude Elliott cautioned council against becoming too reactionary.

"We have to be very careful," he said, referring to the annual event involving motorcycles. "I had a complaint last year about the Ride for Sight. If we're going to cancel everything that somebody complains about, then we might as well dry up as a community. I'm not saying the circus is right, but what I am saying is if there was a complaint last year from people about the Ride for Sight having too much noise, what's next? Are we going to give up everything?"

He suggested the issue should be re-examined prior to 2011.

Coun. Foley and Coun. David Blundon were the only members of council to support the motion to ban the use of town facilities for circuses using animals.

Bonnie Harris, manager of the SPCA in Gander, said she will be meeting with council members shortly to express her own concerns about circuses using animals.

In a previous year when Cirque Estival visited Gander, she examined the animals, and admits her own assessments may not have been adequate given her lack of background with such exotic creatures, including camels and tigers.

Her main concerns revolve around the conditions the animals travel in. Additionally, she questions whether people should allow their children to take rides on them.

"These are wild animals. As far as I'm concern, they shouldn't be travelling in a circus, let alone being in (a zoo)."

Ms. Harris said the SPCA will stage a protest outside of the circus.

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