Animal’s Banned from Romania’s Largest Circus

Bucharest, Romania will no longer allow the use of trained animals in circus shows. The decision comes after a fire broke out in January, in a facility housing circus animals—wherein 11 animals used for Romania’s Globus Circus perished. The Bucharest General Council met on Monday to vote on the matter and unanimously decided to go through with the ban. “We all came to the conclusion that we should promote today a decision draft that amends the rules of organization and functioning of the Globus Circus in Bucharest so that, following your vote today, the circus shows at Globus will no longer include performances with trained animals,” the city’s mayor Gabriela Firea said. Animals previously used by the circus will be relocated to sanctuaries and reservations with the help of Vier Pfoten Association—Romania’s branch of animal-rights organization FOUR PAWS International. This ban follows growing global concern for animals used for entertainment—which recently led to the demise of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus—and is in line with similar bans already in place in countries, such as Mexico, Greece, Iran, and many others.