The aim of the Bill was to make it illegal for circus operators to use ‘wild’ animals in the course of their circus show, with ‘wild’ being defined as any animal that is not commonly domesticated within Great Britain.

This Bill is very similar to one that was put forward in the 2015-16 session - more information on that prior Bill can be found here. Due to time constraints, this Bill did not get past the first reading.

Kevin’s Bill has already had its first reading on 4th July 2016, with the second reading due on 24th February 2017. Unfortunately, due to a lack of Parliamentary time the Bill was not read on the 24th, and has been rescheduled for a later date. Since this date, the Prime Minister has called an early General Election. As this Bill has not cleared both Houses of Parliament, the Bill has not made it in to legislation.

You can read more about the Parliamentary passage of this Bill here.