BOSTON (AP) — The use of elephants, lions, giraffes and other animals in traveling acts such as circuses is now banned in Massachusetts after Governor Maura Healey signed a law banning the practice.
Supporters of the law, which Healey signed on Friday, said the goal is to prevent the mistreatment of animals.
From January 1, travelling artists such as circuses, fairs and carnival operators will be prohibited by law from using certain animals, including lions, tigers, bears, elephants, giraffes and primates, for entertainment purposes.
Exceptions apply to animals living in a zoo and to the use of animals in filming. Non-exotic animals such as horses, chickens, pigs and rabbits may still be exhibited.
“For years, circuses have harmed the welfare of animals for the purpose of entertainment and allowed animals to suffer in poor living conditions and stressful environments,” Healey, a Democrat, said in a statement.
It is now up to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to implement the new regulations. The state Department of Energy and Environment and state and local law enforcement agencies have the authority to enforce the ban, which carries civil penalties ranging from $500 to $10,000 per animal.
With the new law, Massachusetts becomes the 11th state to impose restrictions on the use of wild animals in traveling exhibits and shows, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
The number of live animal shows has declined in recent years.
The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey shows no longer feature elephants and other live animals. The Topsfield Fair will no longer feature elephants following a municipal ban in 2019. King Richard’s Faire, the largest Renaissance festival in New England, will no longer feature an exotic cat show in 2020.
Preyel Patel, state director of the Humane Society of Massachusetts, said the new law protects the animals from abusive training methods – including the use of elephant hooks, whips and stun guns – and from being locked up for long periods of time and transported from city to city.
“This historic law marks the end of an era in which tigers, elephants and other wild animals are forced to perform in deplorable conditions, including whipping and being confined to small cages to be transported from show to show across the Commonwealth,” Patel said.
Advocates also pointed to the 2019 death of Beulah, an elephant owned by a Connecticut zoo. The elephant was at the center of a lawsuit filed by the Nonhuman Rights Project, which called for Beulah and two other elephants to be moved to a wildlife sanctuary.
The lawsuit also argued that the elephants had “personhood rights” that entitle them to the same freedoms as humans. In 2019, a three-judge panel of the Connecticut Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision and dismissed an appeal by the advocacy group, finding that the group did not have standing to file suit on behalf of the elephants.
Zoo owner Tim Commerford defended the way the zoo cared for the elephants and denied allegations of mistreatment, saying the elephants were like family.
