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 The measure, approved 11-0 by the board on Tuesday and expected to
be enacted in a final vote next week, would make San Francisco the
largest city to adopt such a sweeping prohibition on the commercial
use of wild animals for public amusement, supporters said.
The ordinance would not apply to domesticated animals, including
dogs, cats, horses and other livestock or pets. Educational
activities or exhibitions accredited by certain zoological and
museum organizations would also be exempt.
But the measure bars any public showing, carnival, fair, parade,
petting zoo, ride, race, film shoot or other undertaking in which
wild or exotic animals "are required to perform tricks, fight or
participate as accompaniments for the entertainment, amusement or
benefit of an audience."
Wild and exotic animals are defined as any non-domestic or hybrid
creature, whether or not it was bred in captivity.
At least eight smaller California municipalities have enacted broad
circus bans, while Los Angeles and Oakland have moved to effectively
prohibit elephant performances by outlawing bullhooks and other
implements used to control the animals.
The bullhook bans in Los Angeles, Oakland and dozens of other cities
across the country led America's oldest and largest traveling
circus, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, to announce last month
that it was phasing elephants out of its act by 2018.
A spokesman for Ringling Bros.' parent company, Feld Entertainment,
called San Francisco's ordinance and similar measures passed
elsewhere "completely unnecessary," saying all circuses are tightly
regulated.
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"We are subject to open, unannounced, frequent inspections by local,
state and federal officials, not only in California, but everywhere
we go," spokesman Stephen Payne said.
Ringling Bros. will be unaffected by the San Francisco ordinance
because none of its Bay Area appearances takes place within city
limits, Payne said.
Supervisor Katy Tang, a sponsor of the measure, acknowledged it may
discourage film and TV productions from coming to San Francisco, but
they were not exempted because "we don't want to undermine the
underlying message of our legislation that animal abuse is not going
to be tolerated."
The board also approved a resolution supporting a proposed statewide
bullhook ban introduced recently in the California legislature.
(Reporting by Peter Henderson in San Francisco; Writing and
additional reporting in Los Angeles by Steve Gorman; Editing by
Sandra Maler)
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