State Of British Zoos

EDM number 1361 in 1993-94, proposed by Gerry Steinberg on 21/06/1994.

That this House deplores the continued practice in many of Britain's zoos of keeping animals in enclosures of limited physical size; believes that keeping animals in enclosures which are too small to allow their normal behaviour pattern any expression is cruelty in its ugliest from and gives rise to the condition known as known as stereotypy which is behaviour characterised by repetitive, accentuated actions such as pacing, rocking from foot to foot, or head tossing, and which is a powerful indication that an animal is unhappy, bored and frustrated; notes that the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 would afford adequate protection to zoo animals if it were implemented assiduously but that the Secretary of State has recently said that he has no plans at present to review its implementation; and calls upon the Secretary of State to take the necessary steps to ensure that Britain's zoos adhere to the codes of practice as set out in the Zoo Licensing Act 1981.

This motion has been signed by a total of 71 MPs.