UPDATE: This action is now closed. SB 313 passed the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife on 6/18/19 by a 9-2 vote.

SB 313, the Circus Cruelty Prevention Act, has advanced to the State Assembly and will be heard on Tuesday, June 18th by the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife.

If signed into law, SB 313—which was introduced by Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego)—would ban circus animal acts throughout California. 

Animals used in circuses are routinely exploited for the sake of "entertainment". They are often deprived of their natural, physical and social needs, forced to spend excessive amounts of time confined to small spaces, and are commonly abused via violent training practices like beatings, whippings, and even electrocution in order to force them into submission. As a result of this brutal mistreatment, circus animals often display abnormal behaviors, such as rocking, swaying, head bobbing, and pacing—all of which indicate the animals are in distress and not coping well in their environment.

In the United States, numerous jurisdictions have already banned or restricted the use of wild and exotic animals in circuses. In December 2018, New Jersey and Hawaii both passed legislation to ban cirucs animal acts statewide. Your help is urgently needed to ensure SB 313 passes its next committee hearing! 

Help end circus cruelty:

California Residents: Click here to locate your assemblymember. If your assemblymember sits on the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife (listed below), urge him/her to support SB 313! (Please only contact your assemblymember if they sit on the committee.) Click here for a sample script to draft your email.

Committee Members:

Eduardo Garcia (Chair) - (916) 319-2056
Click here to send Assemblymember Garcia an email.

James Gallagher (Vice Chair) - (916) 319-2003
Click here to send Assemblymember Gallagher an email.

Frank Bigelow - (916) 319-2005
Click here to send Assemblymember Bigelow an email.

Steven S. Choi, Ph.D. - (916) 319-2068
Click here to send Assemblymember Choi an email.

Kansen Chu - (916) 319-2025
Click here to send Assemblymember Chu an email.

Brian Dahle - (916) 319-2001
Click here to send Assemblymember Dahle an email.

Laure Friedman - (916) 319-2043
Click here to send Assemblymember Friedman an email.

Cristina Garcia - (916) 319-2058
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Todd Gloria - (916) 319-2078
Click here to send Assemblymember Gloria an email.

Ash Kalra - (916) 319-2027
Click here to send Assemblymember Kalra an email.

Marc Levine - (916) 319-2010
Click here to send Assemblymember Levine an email.

Blanca E. Rubio - (916) 319-2048
Click here to send Assemblymember Rubio an email.

Rudy Salas, Jr. - (916) 319-2032
Click here to send Assemblymember Salas an email.

Jim Wood - (916) 319-2002
Click here to send Assemblymember Wood an email.

Click here to learn more about circus cruelty.

Photo: Pixabay