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Tigers, monkeys, elephants — and even crocodiles — will likely no longer be featured in carnivals or shows in Hawaii.
The Hawaii Board of
Agriculture on Tuesday voted 6 to 3 to approve amended rules that would prohibit these “dangerous, wild animals” from being
imported into the state
for short-term circus or
carnival exhibitions or
performances.
Following review by the state Attorney General’s
office, the rules land on
Gov. David Ige’s desk for
his signature. If signed, it would go into effect 10 days later.
Animal activists praised the decision, while a longtime Hawaii company says the new rules will greatly
affect its ability to do
business.
“Wild animals used for
entertainment are trained with pain and the fear of punishment, caged and chained in trucks and trailers, forced to endure months of grueling travel and bullied to perform silly tricks,” said Keith Dane,
Hawaii policy adviser for the Humane Society of the United States in a news release. “They pose a public health and safety risk as well as risks to Hawaii’s natural resources. There is simply no need to involve wild animals in any form of live
entertainment.”
Scott Fernandez, CEO
of E.K. Fernandez, said the board did not listen to the majority of public testimony on Tuesday. He called the decision a “regulatory overreach” and says it will likely put him out of the carnival business.
“To say I was disappointed would be a massive understatement,” said
Fernandez, the third generation
to run the company. “They basically ripped the guts out of E.K. Fernandez. They’ve taken a piece of history from us.”
Fernandez said numerous supporters of his shows,
including nonprofits, schools and others who rely on the company for fundraising events testify against the new rules.
“The community came out and supported us because they enjoy what we’ve done for 115 years without incident,” he said. “We bring joy and happiness.”
Over the decades, E.K. Fernandez has brought
tigers, lions, alligators,
camels, chimpanzees and orangutans to its state fairs, he said, as well as bears, which were at the 50th state fair in 2015.
The board’s decision on the new rules is a continuation of
unfinished business from last year, when it took no
action on the matter. The state’s Plant Quarantine Branch originally proposed the revised rules in response to a petition from the Humane Society of the U.S. filed in 2014, citing animal welfare, public health and safety concerns.
The list also includes leopards, wolves, hyenas, hippos and rhinos, among others.
The Humane Society has for years been advocating for a stop to wild animals from being featured in a
circus, movie, TV show or commercial, saying that the methods used to train these animals are often abusive and that the needs of wild animals can not be met in traveling shows.
Supporters of the ban refer to tragic story of Tyke, the circus elephant who in 1994 crushed her trainer at the Blaisdell Arena and was then gunned down by police while running through the streets of Kakaako. Tyke was with Circus International of Honolulu.
In 2015, Ige pledged to discontinue issuing permits for entertainment acts involving wild animals, much to the delight of the Humane Society and other groups, including the Hawaiian Humane Society and Animal Rights Hawaii.
Fernandez said he had not brought any animals to his state fairs since 2015, and that he has experienced a drop in attendance the past three years.
That same year, the Ringling Bros. announced it would no longer use elephants in its shows, ending a more than 145-year tradition. In the face of criticism from groups like the Humane Society, the elephants performed their final show in 2016 and went into early retirement.
Ige said on Wednesday that he continues to support prohibiting dangerous wild animals from being transported to Hawaii for circuses, carnivals and fairs. He declined to say whether he would sign off on the amendments because he had not yet reviewed them.
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