Circus animals lost a very close vote in February as the Seattle City Council narrowly defeated a proposal that would have protected wild and exotic animals by prohibiting performances of animal acts on city-owned property.

Council members Heidi Wills, Judy Nicastro, Richard Conlin, and Nick Licata fought for the animals, but were defeated five to four when council members Jim Compton, Margaret Pageler, Peter Steinbrueck, Jan Drago, and Richard McIver voted against the proposal.

For Wills, the vote was especially frustrating. “Compassion is at the heart of why I pushed the Exotic Animal Performance Ban,” said Wills. “Circus animals are wild animals, not props, and they deserve better.”

The issue was brought to the Seattle officials by Citizens for Cruelty-Free Entertainment (CCFE), a citizens group dedicated to helping circus animals in Washington State of which PAWS is a member. Among the dedicated individual members are local activists Mimi Perrin and Lars Pardo, Joe Haptas of local animal rights group Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN), PAWS board member Claudine Erlandson, PAWS Advocate Diane Venberg, and Simon Chaitowitz, who is currently working for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

CCFE worked closely with Seattle Mayor Paul Schell, earning his support for the ban late in 1999. Newly elected city council members Heidi Wills and Judy Nicastro brought the issue before the city council in February.

The issue was first brought before the council’s Culture, Arts, and Parks commission. At least 200 animal supporters packed the city council hearing room to give and hear testimony. PAWS Advocacy Director Will Anderson spoke first, detailing PAWS’s opposition to performances by circus animals because of the inherent cruelty, safety risks to the public, and the poor educational message shown by having wild animals out of their natural environment.

PAWS Advocate Diane Venberg led much of the PAWS efforts during the campaign. PAWS placed full page ads in the Seattle Times and Seattle P-I, as well as worked with CCFE to produce ads that appeared in the Seattle Weekly. PAWS Executive Director Kathy Kelly and Advocacy Director Will Anderson wrote an editorial about the issue that appeared in the Seattle Times. PAWS advocates also met daily with council members and their aides.

At first animal supporters had reason to hope. Prior to his election to the city council, former KING-TV broadcaster Jim Compton had indicated his support of the proposed ban. After his election, he reiterated his support to Council member Wills. But by the time of the hearing, Compton had changed his crucial swing vote. At the time, Compton was adamant to local press that his decision to change his vote was not prompted by pressure from Feld Entertainment, the half-billion dollar corporation that runs Ringling Bros. circus, or from pressure by the heavy duty public relations firms that Feld hired.

For Wills, the negative vote is a temporary setback. “I intend to bring this issue forward again, within my term.”

Wills is a longtime PAWS supporter and vegetarian. Bringing the proposed ban before the city council was an extension of her personal belief system about animals. “I have long been uncomfortable with society’s disconnection between how we value some animals as worthy of our love and respect, and treat other animals with less regard,” said Wills. “Each animal is capable of feeling playfulness, fear, or pain. Let’s increase the compassion afforded all animals. Unable to speak out on their own behalf, animals need our visible and vocal assistance to improve their living conditions.”