Earlier this month the Edmonton City Council rejected a proposed ban on circus animals by a vote of 8-4.
The proposed ban had threatened the 55th annual Shrine circus scheduled for Edmonton from March 7-9. Bruce Hogle, a spokesman for the Al Shamal Shriners, told The Edmonton Journal,
We are ecstatic about this. We’ll continue to entertain thousands of children from Edmonton, central and northern Alberta. The animals are well taken care of. We’ve never been charged by the Edmonton or Alberta SPCA. We’ve never been warned by any organization.
Tove Reece of Voice of Animals, one of the groups supporting the proposed ban, told The Edmonton Journal that the vote was a “huge loss for animals” and urged people not to go to the circus.
Edmonton City Councillor Ron Hayter attacked the proposal and accused the activists of engaging in “misleading propaganda.” The Edmonton Journal reported that Hayter said,
It’s [the proposed ban] an attempt of the few to impose their idea of what is right on the many. I don’t like their tactics, their efforts to confuse and mislead. In my 25 years on council, I have learned to ignore the shrill voices of fanatics.
Source:
Councillor claws animal rights activists: Circus animals won’t be banned. Bob Gilmour, The Edmonton Journal, February 12, 2003.