New Yorkers Support Stronger Protections for Captive Wild Animals 

BOSTON, MA – February 12, 2026. In 2017, New York made the humane decision to prohibit the use of elephants in traveling shows in the state. That protection could now extend to other captive wild animals if state legislators recognized the overwhelming public support for further legislation.

A recent public opinion poll surveyed New York residents on the use of captive wild animals in traveling acts. In addition to general questions on the subject, the poll asked specifically about state bill S.3629-A/A.5850, which would prohibit the use of wild cats (such as big cats like lions and tigers, plus smaller cats like cheetahs and servals), bears, nonhuman primates, kangaroos, and wallabies in traveling wild animal acts in New York.

Unsurprisingly, the poll showed that nearly 80% of respondents are in support of the statewide legislation to ban these additional wild animals from use in traveling shows. This support increased even further to 85.5% after respondents learned more about the cruel treatment of wild animals in traveling acts and the dangerous public encounters that have occurred at traveling shows.

The poll, conducted by the strategic research firm Beekeeper Group, was commissioned by FOUR PAWS USA. The global animal welfare organization has been working for years to end the cruel use and abuse of captive wild animals in circuses and other traveling shows throughout the world.

This high level of concern for wild animals performing in shows was echoed by New Yorkers in the poll as well, with 82.1% of respondents saying yes, they are concerned about the welfare and treatment of captive wild animals used in circuses, fairs, and other traveling acts. Such concern is justified, as captive wild animals suffer from a life of misery on the road that forces them to adapt to abnormal surroundings and perform unnatural behaviors.

Beyond subjecting these animals to neglect, abusive training, and prolonged confinement, traveling shows also put the health and safety of the public at risk. People have been injured when allowed close contact with wild animals and their safety jeopardized when wild animals have escaped the temporary and insufficient barriers put in place to contain animals at traveling events.

"Dangerous traveling wildlife acts jeopardize public safety while exposing wild animals to a lifetime of inhumane captivity,” said Brian Shapiro, New York State Director, Humane World for Animals (formerly called the Humane Society of the United States). Shapiro further states, “By population, more than half the state already has municipal laws in place prohibiting these cruel acts in their communities, and it’s beyond time for New York to follow suit and enact this sensible legislation statewide.”

The inability for traveling shows to properly care for wild animals has been recognized in over 40 countries around the world, where (some or all) wild animals have become prohibited for use in circuses and other traveling acts; in Canada, there are local prohibitions on the use of animals in circuses in over 33 municipal jurisdictions. In the U.S., there are twelve states and nearly 200 localities (cities, towns, and counties) throughout the U.S. that have passed various restrictions or bans involving the use of wild animals in circuses and other traveling shows.