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Stop Traveling Circuses From Confining And Exploiting Wild Animals

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Sponsor: The Animal Rescue Site

Wild animals are still confined, transported, and forced to perform for crowds. Tell Governor Hochul to end this cruel exploitation across New York.

Close-up of a chimpanzee’s somber eyes and face seen through the metal bars of a cage.

Lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, and other wild animals can still be transported across New York for circuses, fairs, exhibitions, and similar performances.

These animals may spend long periods inside trucks, trailers, temporary cages, and unfamiliar facilities. Their lives are shaped by constant movement, confinement, noise, crowds, and performances designed for human entertainment.

New York prohibited elephants from entertainment acts in 2017, but that protection does not extend to many other wild species.1 Big cats, bears, nonhuman primates, kangaroos, and wallabies remain vulnerable to the same traveling-show system.

Life On The Road Cannot Meet Their Needs

Wild animals have complex physical, social, and behavioral needs. A trailer, temporary enclosure, or performance ring cannot provide the space and stability they require.

A scientific review published in Animal Welfare found that repeated transport, forced movement, human handling, noise, confinement, inadequate housing, and frequent performances create serious welfare concerns. Researchers concluded that large cats and other commonly exhibited species are poorly suited to traveling circus life.2

A separate review of tiger welfare identified loading, unloading, noise, cage motion, unfamiliar environments, and restricted housing as potential sources of stress.3

New York Lawmakers Have Approved A Ban

The New York Legislature has passed A.5850/S.3629-A. The bill would prohibit wild cats, bears, nonhuman primates, kangaroos, and wallabies from participating in traveling animal acts.4

The measure would also prevent the Department of Environmental Conservation from issuing permits that allow covered animals to appear in traveling performances.

Permanent facilities would remain exempt, provided animals are not transported there solely for temporary entertainment.

The Assembly approved the bill 100-38, and the Senate passed it with a bipartisan 54-8 vote.5 Governor Kathy Hochul now has the power to make it law.

Entertainment Does Not Require Animal Suffering

Modern circuses and public performances can attract audiences through acrobatics, theater, music, technology, and human talent. Wild animals do not need to be confined, transported, and displayed to create entertainment.

New York has already acknowledged that elephants do not belong in entertainment acts. The state must now extend meaningful protection to other animals whose natural needs cannot be reduced to what fits inside a trailer or temporary cage.

Sign the petition urging New York's Governor to sign A.5850/S.3629-A and end the cruel exploitation of wild animals in traveling shows.

More on this issue:

  1. New York State Senate, New York State Senate (29 January 2025), "Senate Bill S3629-A."
  2. G. Iossa, C. D. Soulsbury and S. Harris, Animal Welfare (May 2009), "Are Wild Animals Suited to a Travelling Circus Life?."
  3. Emily Davies et al., Animals (5 April 2024), "Welfare Implications for Tigers in Travelling Circuses."
  4. New York State Assembly, New York State Senate (24 February 2025), "Assembly Bill A5850."
  5. Humane World for Animals, Humane World for Animals (5 May 2026), "New York Legislature Passes Bill That Ends Some Of The Cruelest Traveling Wild Animal Acts In The State."
  6. FindLaw Staff, FindLaw (29 August 2023), "Exotic Animal Laws By State."

The Petition

To the Governor of the State of New York,

We respectfully urge you to sign A.5850/S.3629-A and end the use of wild cats, bears, nonhuman primates, kangaroos, and wallabies in traveling animal acts across New York.

Wild animals do not belong in trailers, temporary cages, performance rings, or roadside exhibitions. Yet traveling shows continue to transport these animals between circuses, fairs, exhibitions, and other public events.

Life on the road cannot meet their complex physical, social, and behavioral needs.

Repeated transportation can expose animals to loading, unloading, vibration, loud noise, unfamiliar surroundings, disrupted routines, and prolonged confinement. Temporary performance sites may also prevent them from receiving adequate space, privacy, enrichment, stable social groups, and species-specific care.

These concerns are especially serious for lions, tigers, bears, and primates. These animals are not domesticated performers. They retain instincts and needs shaped by complex natural environments.

A.5850/S.3629-A offers a focused and reasonable solution. It would prohibit covered wild animals from participating in traveling acts and prevent the Department of Environmental Conservation from issuing permits that authorize their use.

The bill would not prohibit legitimate animal care or every lawful exhibition. Permanent institutions and fixed facilities would remain exempt. The legislation specifically addresses the repeated transportation of wild animals for temporary entertainment.

New York has already prohibited the use of elephants in entertainment acts. Other wild species face many of the same risks and deserve the same consideration.

Entertainment does not require wild animal suffering. Circuses and other productions can rely on human skill, acrobatics, theater, music, and technology without treating captive animals as props.

Both chambers of the New York Legislature passed this measure with bipartisan support. Lawmakers have given the state an opportunity to replace inconsistent protections with one clear statewide standard.

Please show humanity and compassion by signing A.5850/S.3629-A into law. No wild animal should spend its life confined, transported, and displayed simply to entertain a crowd.

These actions will protect vulnerable animals, support responsible entertainment, and ensure a better future for all.

Sincerely,

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