Letter: Animal aware

I write in response to "All the fun of the fair at Bobby Roberts Circus" (your report, 4 June). As your readers may be aware, Bobby Roberts Circus features an elderly, arthritic elephant and a camel.

Animals don't belong in a circus. The constant transportation from town to town for ten months each year and confinement for long periods means that a travelling circus can never meet all of the needs of these animals.

Circus owners claim the animals are stimulated when learning tricks. In fact, the same tricks are generally repeated over and over for years providing little stimulation for the animals.

CAPS is not opposed to circuses, only to the use of animals, and we encourage people to avoid animal circuses and instead visit one of the many excellent shows that rely entirely on human skills.

FIONA GALBRAITH

Campaigns assistant

The Captive Animals' Protection Society, Manchester