Democrat, Republican Representatives Team Up to Save Animals From Traveling Circuses - National Humane Education Society

Paws Up!

To U.S. Reps. Ryan Costello (R-Penn.) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) for introducing the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act (TEAPSPA) to end the use of animals in traveling circuses.

According to a recent news article, Rep. Costello, a Republican representative from Pennsylvania, and Rep. Grijalva, a Democratic representative from Arizona, have teamed up to introduce a bill that would end the use of exotic animals in traveling circuses. Known as the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act or TEAPSPA, this bill would create a federal law prohibiting companies from procuring or using animals in traveling circus acts. The bill would simultaneously rescue elephants, tigers, bears, and lions, currently being used by circuses in the United States.

There is no doubt that public attitudes are shifting towards the practice of caging animals for entertainment and profit.  In January, declining sales and public concern for the elephants led Ringling Bros. to send their elephants to an earlier retirement. Still, the question remains; could a bill to end animal acts in the circus gain enough support to pass in the U.S. Congress this year? Prior iterations of TEAPSPA have been introduced in previous legislative sessions without passing into law.  Conversely – could this be the year that U.S. circus animals are finally allowed to rest?

Take action. Contact your U.S. representatives, and urge them to support TEAPSA with this simple message:

“My name is {Your Name} and I am writing to urge you to support the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act, to end the use of animals in traveling circus acts.  Meant to entertain paying crowds, circuses often mean suffering, pain, fear, and degradation for the animals who are forced to perform day after day. By turning animals into spectacles, circuses diminish these magnificent living, breathing, sentient beings and deny them the chance at life in a natural habitat. They are housed in conditions that in no way resemble their habitats in the wild. There are no regulations governing the training methods that animals endure under the Animal Welfare Act, and serious human injuries and fatalities have occurred in cases where circus animals have escaped confinement. For these reasons, and many more, I hope you will support laws to end this archaic practice.”

Respectfully,

{Your Name}