Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2019
Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2019
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Overview of the Act
Reproduced verbatim from the Explanatory Notes published with the Act on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Explanatory Notes are prepared by the responsible government department and are not part of the Act.
The Act makes it an offence, from 20 January 2020, for an operator of a travelling circus in England to use a "wild animal" in the circus. Wild animals are defined in the Act as animals of a kind which are not commonly domesticated in Great Britain.
Type: UK Public General Act
Year and chapter: 2019 c. 24
Royal Assent: 2019-07-24
Last ingested: 2026-06-12 from legislation.gov.uk. Acts commence section by section — check the official text for commencement orders.