Lions, tigers, bears: no way

Circus makes plans for local show, but law prohibits exotic animals

The circus is welcome – but the animals aren’t.

City officials said Tuesday that Florida-based Circus Pages won’t be permitted to bring “exotic” animals to Lawrence for a scheduled May 24 performance. City code allows only a few domestic animals to be kept and owned in town.

“We have looked it over,” said Toni Wheeler, a staff attorney at City Hall. “And it appears the exotic animals – lions, tigers and bears – would not be permitted in this city.”

The Douglas County Commission last year banned exotic animal acts from unincorporated areas of the county, including the fairgrounds, where such performances had been allowed.

Circus Pages’ planned performance is the first locally since the vote; officials with the circus did not return calls to comment on how the ban might affect their plans.

A flier for a circus scheduled in Lawrence promotes jungle cats and rides on elephants. Both animals are among those banned in the city.

But fliers promising jungle cats and elephant rides have been posted across town, drawing the ire of critics who say such acts are harmful to the animals.

“It seems to me in this day and age, we should all be well aware of the dangers of keeping large animals in the circumstances that sometimes they’re kept,” said Andrea Albright, a Lawrence resident who fired off a letter to city officials this week.

The circus was scheduled to perform at the Kansas National Guard armory, 200 Iowa. On Tuesday, Ernie Gwin, a unit administrator at the armory, said he saw nothing wrong with circuses. He said he planned to take his young daughter to the event.

More about the ban

“They bring happiness to little kids,” Gwin said. “I’ve never seen any animals mistreated. Why would they do that? It’s their livelihood.”

Gwin said Tuesday he was unsure whether the circus would take place.

“This is state property,” he said.

That shouldn’t matter, Wheeler said.

“There’s no exclusion for a temporary display (of animals) at the National Guard,” she said.

These animals are OK

Chapter 3 of the Lawrence City Code prohibits animal ownership, with the following exceptions:

¢ Domestic dogs, except those hybridized with wild canines, and domestic cats, except those hybridized with wild felines.

¢ Domesticated rodents and European ferrets.

¢ Rabbits, although no more than three rabbits are permitted in residentially zoned districts.

¢ Birds, except for species protected by state or federal law.

¢ Nonvenomous snakes less than 8 feet in length; such snakes must be maintained on the owner’s premises or property.

¢ Amphibians, fish, invertebrates and nonvenomous lizards.

¢ Any animal in the ownership of a veterinary clinic operated by a licensed veterinarian.

¢ Any animal in the ownership of a person designated and licensed as an animal rehabilitator by the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Department.

¢ Any animal in the ownership of a person temporarily transporting such animal through the city.

¢ Any animal in the ownership of a bona fide medical institution or accredited educational institution.

¢ Any animal exhibited for sale, show or other temporary purpose at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

¢ Any animal temporarily owned by a facility licensed by the Kansas Animal Health Department for the purpose of impounding, sheltering or caring for animals.

Source: City of Lawrence Web site