Last Tuesday, 14 April, the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco voted unanimously in favour of the ordinance proposed by Supervisor Katy Tang, which is designed, according to the measure, to “protect wild and exotic animals from cruel and inhumane treatment and to protect the public from the danger posed by the use of wild and exotic animals for entertainment.”
Rescued lion in Lionsrock - Betlehem, South Africa, 2011
This will also impact the use of wild animals in films and television. For this reason, the Motion Picture Association of America expressed opposition to the ordinance, but clearly it did not convince a single member of the Board.
Many bans of a similar nature have been approved in the US and in other countries. This website recently reported on the bans approved in Malta and in Chiapas.
Care2 reports that when Feld Entertainment, which owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, announced it would be retiring its performing elephants, it acknowledged that these local bans had played a role in the decision.
You can read the text of the ordinance on the website of the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco.
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