The long awaited report from the Parliamentary Inquiry into the use of exotic animals in circuses and the exhibition of cetaceans in New South Wales has been released – and it's recommendations are a very disappointing read.
The Inquiry, established on 26 September 2019, sought to question the welfare of exotic animals in circuses and the exhibition of cetaceans (in NSW) with consideration given to community expectations and whether to allow the continued breeding of these species into facilities where their lives are forever spent providing human entertainment.
During the public consultation period, over 56% of respondents to an online survey agreed the current legislation, regulation and standards in NSW are inadequate and only 11% felt they were adequate.
Community and stakeholder submissions were requested and over 270 were received by the Committee. They came from NSW residents, national and international advocates, animal welfare organisations and experts as well as scientists, veterinarians and passionate members of the general public. Of the 275 submissions received, more than 220 strongly recommended the committee legislate bans in line with changing public attitudes and a global move away from these exploitative cruel practices. The remaining few were all industry or industry employee commentaries.
Public hearings were also held and a number of experts presented to the Committee across two days, they included:
Dr Ingrid Visser (Orca Research Trust), Dr Di Evans and Dr Liz Arnott (RSPCA), Tara Ward and Farnham Seyedi (Animal Defenders Office), Georgie Dolphin (Humane Society International AU), Ben Pearson (World Animal Protection AU) and Dr Rosemary Elliott (Sentient).
Notably Dr Visser made point that a ban on keeping cetaceans is necessary to comply with Australia’s obligations under international conventions. 'Australia is a party to many international conventions which encourage the conservation of cetaceans... the phasing out of captive cetaceans will bring Australia one step closer to formally keep in line with evolving international practice, as well as fulfil its responsibilities under the international conventions to which it is a party, when NSW phases out the keeping of cetaceans.' she stated.
In addition the Committee received a submission from The Hon. Wilfred P. Moore, a former member of the Senate of Canada and the original sponsor of a Bill which created ‘a historic nationwide phase-out of whale, dolphin and porpoise captivity for entertainment purposes’ in Canada. The former Senator noted, "Our Bill was based on the strong scientific evidence that cetacean captivity is inherently cruel, primarily because the biological and ecological needs of cetaceans cannot be met in the conditions of captivity’.
Dr Isabella Clegg, a marine mammal welfare expert, currently working in Australia as a paid consultant to Sea World Gold Coast, also fronted the Inquiry as an 'independent' witness.
Dr Clegg appeared to support the captive dolphin industry's stance, whilst at the same time demonstrating through her C-Well® assessments, that a range of health and behavioural issues in dolphins such as cracked and worn-down teeth, iron problems, anticipatory and attention seeking behaviour, stereotypic behaviours such as circle swimming, and eye problems were ‘not unique’ in captive dolphins nor to NSW.
Dr Clegg developed the C-Well® framework and undertook an assessment at the Dolphin Marine Conservation Park in NSW, yet also acknowledged that her methodology focussed on the 'welfare of the dolphins in front of the assessor'. That is, the dolphins were assessed as they were found, and the model in its assessment did not draw comparisons with their counterparts living in the wild.'
Sadly, regardless of the overwhelming public and expert support for the Inquiry to find in favour of ending the breeding and use of exotic animals in circuses and 'sea circuses', the committees recommendations seem to be lacking in any real substance that might persuade the Government to end the practice of keeping and breeding these species for zoos and aquariums in NSW; for no other reason than our entertainment.
Perhaps The Hon Emma Hurst MLC of the Animal Justice Party who brought the Inquiry to Parliament sums the report findings best in her statements following release of the disappointing report:
"As Deputy Chair, I am disgusted by the failure of this report to recommend a legislative ban on the use of animals in entertainment. The need for a legislated ban on further breeding within these industries, and a ban on continuing to force exotic animals and cetaceans to perform for human entertainment, was supported by evidence from thousands of community members, animal welfare groups including the RSPCA, academics, and scientists who all highlighted the serious welfare issues faced by animals forced to travel in circuses or to perform in pools. Yet the recommendations in this report do not reflect the evidence provided by stakeholders with genuine animal protection concerns and expertise, instead favouring the viewpoint of industry and industry lobby groups who have a vested financial interest in allowing animal performances to continue." "... the Committee has made a grave error in failing to support a recommendation to enact an outright ban on the exhibition of cetaceans for performance purposes. There was overwhelming evidence at the inquiry that the community no longer supports keeping these animals in captivity to perform ‘dolphin shows’, due to the significant animal welfare issues associated with this practice." "Overall, this Inquiry has made clear that the community does not support keeping sentient animals in captivity for the purposes of human entertainment. These animals were not born to perform. They do not exist for our entertainment. They deserve a life worth living, and this Inquiry has established that the circus and dolphinarium industries can never provide this."
It remains to be seen what the Government takes from the report, it now has 6 months to consider the recommendations.
To see all submissions and reports relating to this Inquiry click here: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-details.aspx?pk=2555#tab-reportsandgovernmentresponses
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