Traveling Animal and Public Safety Protection Act (North Carolina)
HB 594 prohibits the use of wild animals in traveling acts in North Carolina.
Status
Wild animals in traveling acts like circuses are subjected to neglect, abusive training, and prolonged confinement. Their use also puts the public at risk. The Traveling Animal and Public Safety Protection Act (HB 594) prohibits the use of wild animals in traveling acts, like circuses, in North Carolina.
Wild animals in traveling acts spend most of their days in cramped, barren cages, deprived of the ability to engage in natural behaviors. Forced to perform frightening and sometimes painful tricks, they endure a lifetime of misery. Additionally, many wild animal exhibitors that perform in North Carolina have histories of federal Animal Welfare Act violations and dangerous public safety incidents.
In response to these concerns, local and state governments are passing laws restricting or prohibiting the use of wild animals in circuses and traveling shows. Six states and nearly 150 other localities in 37 states have passed various restrictions on the use of wild animals in circuses and traveling shows — including Asheville and Orange County, North Carolina.
The bill is sponsored by Representatives Cynthia Ball (D-49), Pricey Harrison (D-61), Susan C. Fisher (D-114), Joe John (D-40), Gale Adcock (D-41), John Autry (D-100), Allison A. Dahle (D-11), Brian Farkas (D-9), Wesley Harris (D-105), Verla Insko (D-56), Marcia Morey (D-30), Brian Turner (D-116).
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