ANIMAL activists have protested against the use of animals at the Lennon Brothers Circus currently camped at Queanbeyan Showground.
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The small group, led by Claire DiCarlo, protested against the poor treatment of animals earlier this week and urged consumers to research the welfare of animals in circuses.
"They are wild animals so in order to get them to perform, they do need to be treated pretty badly and dominated by the humans otherwise they won't obey orders," she said.
"An animal like a lion is not going to obey what you tell it to do unless it's scared of you."
Ms DiCarlo staged the protest after she discovered the circus while visiting Queanbeyan from Melbourne. She said the use of animals in the circus was an outdated practice "from the dark ages".
"I'm shocked this is still legal in some parts of Australia. I know in the ACT it hasn't been legal to have animals in circuses since 1992. This particular company has tried to get around it by setting up across the state border to get away with using animals in their shows," she said.
"It's crazy to me that in 2015, there are other states still allowing animals in circuses. A lot of councils around the country have banned this particular circus from coming to their areas. I think the more times this happens the more the councils will get the idea that they're not welcome."
Lennon Brothers Circus manager Warren Lennon confirmed the use of three lions, ponies and dogs in their shows.
He said animals have been a core part of their performances dating back to 1893 and defended the use of animals.
"Everyone has their right to protest for their beliefs but a lot of them haven't researched the way we handle our animals," he said.
"Australia is under the toughest regulations for exotic animals in the world and studies have been done and we work within the guidelines of it.
"We treat the animals very well, any animals - even a dog, if you treat them badly they'll bite you or cower down.
"Our animals don't do that because they're trained with rewards, not tied up and in exercise yards bigger than the size suggested in the regulations."
Mr Lennon said it was usual to have protests about once per season per town.
However, he said it hasn't deterred audiences with the circus enjoying a good season in Queanbeyan.
He estimated about 80 per cent of the audience were travelling from Canberra to watch performances.
"[The audience] wants to see animals. That's the first thing they ask 'do you have animals?' So yes, we'll keep them," he said.
Ms DiCarlo said she hoped to see the practice phased out as she believed it was unnatural for animals to be kept in captivity and used for entertainment.
"No animal is there by choice, they are there because they're forced to be there and no matter how much you think you're giving them good care you're still forcing them to do things that are not natural to them," she said.
"You're denying them their natural environment, you're denying them their natural relationships. No human would want to be born into captivity, kept in a cage and forced to do tricks their whole life."
A Queanbeyan City Council spokesman said the use of exotic animals in shows was not governed by local authorities and licences were given by the NSW Department of Agriculture.
"Placing a ban on the use of exotic animals in circuses is not within the jurisdiction of Queanbeyan City Council and is a matter for a higher authority which has the power to make such decisions," he said.
"As with all state-wide legislation, if the NSW Government was to introduce a law regarding the use of exotic animals in circuses, Queanbeyan City Council would follow it."