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Animal Welfare Bill

Clearly this is a very emotive issue. On principle I find it fairly unattractive when I see what I regard as non-domestic animals being made to perform acts that are alien to their natural behaviour. However, we have to accept the fact that circuses are part of national life and bring a great degree of pleasure to many people. But, of course, we come back to the question of what is ““wild”” and, on balance, my sympathies lie very much with the amendment of my noble friend Lady Byford. When the regulations are drawn up as to how circuses are going to operate, how does the Minister envisage the question of what is ““wild”” being determined? For example, a second-generation tiger may be regarded as wild and a third-generation tiger may or may not be regarded as wild, so surely it will depend very much on the nature of the animal itself. These are difficult subjects to address but, on balance, my sympathy lies with the notion of maintaining the principles of the circus, provided that we can deal with this rather vexed question. I know that the Government will have some difficulty in dealing with this, but it will be interesting to hear what the Minister has to say on the matter.