According to an order recently passed by the nation’s Central Zoo Authority (CZA) circuses will no longer be allowed to use wild animals for exhibition or performance in India.
The legislation was passed earlier this week and it confirms that a number of circuses will be deregistered several circuses following a year-long investigation into animal rights violations under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act from 1960.
While monkeys, lions, bears, and tigers were all banned from being used for entertainment in 1998, elephants could still technically be utilized in the shows.
A recent evaluation that was conducted by the CZA and supported by animal rights organizations found that none of the elephants used in India’s circuses were free from humane violations.
In light of these violations, there are now no circuses that are registered by the body of India.
The court-ordered cancellation notice states that the entertainment groups had been warned of their violations in previous years, and still made no effort to correct them.
All the elephants that were previously used in shows will now be going to wildlife rehabilitation centers, according to India Today.
