Hungary Bans Wild Animals From the Circus
Hungary has become the final European Union member state to close the door on wild animals being used in circus performances.
From the 1st of January 2027, circuses will be prohibited from acquiring, breeding, keeping, training, displaying or using 25 groups of wild animals, including elephants, primates, bears, giraffes, rhinoceroses, seals, wild cats and birds of prey.
Government spokesperson Éva Magyar said the keeping, transportation, training and public performance of wild animals are incompatible with modern animal welfare standards. The government also pointed to growing public opposition and the safety risks involved.
Quite right. But there is an elephant in the room. Possibly literally, until January.
The last elephant leaves the ring
Szandra, an Indian elephant, is reportedly the last wild animal still performing in a Hungarian circus ring.
Under the new rules, animals already legally held by circuses can remain for the rest of their lives, but they cannot continue to be trained, displayed or bred. The Hungarian National Circus has supported the change, with its director offering Szandra accommodation at the Richter Safari Park.
The ban also closes an obvious loophole. Hungary previously had only partial restrictions, meaning foreign circuses could reportedly bring animals into the country after encountering stricter rules elsewhere. That will finally end.
Wild enough to deserve protection
There is, however, a rather strange line running through the new law. Dogs, cats, horses, donkeys and pigs are exempt.
Apparently the problem with forcing an elephant to perform for human entertainment is that she is wild. Make the animal domesticated and suddenly the ethical objection becomes considerably less urgent. But domestication does not turn someone into a prop. If public entertainment does not justify breeding, confining, transporting and training wild animals for performances, why should it justify doing those things to horses or dogs?
Hungary’s decision is still progress. It reflects years of pressure from advocates and a wider European rejection of wild-animal circus acts. But perhaps the most interesting thing about bans like this is what they reveal. We already recognise that tradition, entertainment and spectacle are not sufficient reasons to exploit certain animals. The next question is why we keep pretending the principle changes when the species does.