The claim
“We in this House have a duty and responsibility to make decisions based on facts, knowledge and the science for any issue relating to animal welfare.”
Andrew Rosindell MP
The background
There was a feral atmosphere in the Commons on Thursday as MPs of all stripes showed their claws on the emotive subject of circus animals.
After an afternoon of fierce debate, MPs agreed to a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, something protest groups have long been calling for despite legal objections from the Government.
In one extraordinary twist, Conservative backbencher Mark Pritchard, who led the backbench call for an end to the practice, claimed he had been threatened by the Prime Minister’s office unless he pulled the plug on the idea.
The vote is not binding on the Government but is being seen as an embarrassment to Ministers who maintain a full ban could be challenged in the European courts.
The analysis
Why is David Cameron cuddling up to the circus world?
His spokeswoman denies it has anything to do with a performing animal company based in his constituency.
Amazing Animals, a company which tames wild animals, is located in David Cameron’s Witney seat. We spoke to the animal trainer there, James Clubb, who said he’d never met the Prime Minister and hadn’t lobbied the government against a ban.
The Prime Minister’s spokeswoman told FactCheck she’d find out if the PM had ever met anyone from the company. But she denied that his enthusiasm for a licensing regime instead of a ban was “personally” motivated.
One Conservative who wears his circus links on his sleeve is the member for Romford, Andrew Rosindell, a former Shadow Minister for Animal Welfare, no less, who weighed into the debate on the side of the circus lobby.
To a chorus of jeers, he told MPs there was “almost no cruelty” against animals in circuses.
He added: “We in this House have a duty and responsibility to make decisions based on facts, knowledge and the science for any issue relating to animal welfare.
“If we make decisions based purely on opinion polls and emotions, we are going to get ourselves into a great deal of difficulty and I have to say from (Mr Pritchard), I didn’t hear anything in his speech about the actual welfare of the animals.”
He said there were just 39 animals in circuses across the UK, adding: “They are not captured from the jungle and dragged into the circus – many of them are born and bred generations into the circus.
“Their entire rhythm of life is based around what they have been with since they were born.”
FactCheck wondered where Mr Rosindell got his detailed knowledge of circus animals from.
A possible answer emerged when we got hold of this picture, showing Mr Rosindell as a guest of the Great British Circus, complete with furry friends.
In fact, the MP went so far as to write a glowing foreword to the company’s 2009 souvenir brochure, on what looks very much like House of Commons notepaper.
The Great British Circus has faced accusations of cruelty from the campaign group Animal Defenders International, who released a video that appeared to show circus staff hitting elephants with metal hooks
FactCheck is seeking urgent answers to these questions about Mr Rosindell’s conduct.
Is this an appropriate use of Commons notepaper? Did Mr Rosindell receive any payment for writing the blurb in the brochure? If so, did he declare an interest before weighing into the debate in the House of Commons.
The verdict
It’s rather a mystery why David Cameron is going to such lengths for the sake of a few camels and the odd tiger.
Introducing a ban would affect very few circuses – there are only between 30 and 40 wild animals currently performing in British circuses. FactCheck will continue to probe the monkey business going on in Downing Street before today’s debate.
The analysis by Patrick Worrall
