Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC May Ban Use Of Wild Animals For Entertainment
By
Josh Keefe
Published Oct 21, 2016
Modified Oct 21, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Josh Keefe
Published Oct 21, 2016
Modified Oct 21, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
This city, perhaps more than just about any other city in the world, is a city comprised of indoorsmen. Yes, many of us head upstate from time to time to brave the harsh sunlight and the deafening roar of crickets in order to feel like real, red-blooded Americans, but we all know, deep-down, that we are imposters. We don't pay exorbitant New York rent to spend time outside, especially now that Pokemon Go mania seems to have ended. We are city people. As such, most of us don't know a thing about wild animals. Are they friends? Enemies? A new kind of designer dog? Can we pet your wombat?
Thankfully, our government has stepped in to minimize our exposure to the increasingly untamable animal kingdom.
First, on Thursday the New York City Council Committee on Health held a hearing on a bill that would ban "wild or exotic" animals from performing in public for "entertainment or amusement." The bill, sponsored by Rosie Mendez, a Democrat representing the East Village, contains exceptions for "accredited zoos, research facilities, religious ceremonies or celebrations, and educational or conservation-related programs or presentations." That leaves circuses which use such animals, and the Ringling Bros. Circus said it would no longer perform in New York City if the bill passes.
“If this bill passes, Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey will not come back to New York, period,” Stephen Payne, spokesman for Feld Entertainment, Ringling's parent company, told the NY Post. “We have no plans at this time to remove any other animals from our show.”
It's a tough time for any form of entertainment that was born in the days before radio, but it's an especially tough time for circuses. The non-profit Big Apple Circus—which only used dogs and horses in its performances—folded earlier this year . Ringing Bros. and the Universoul Circus are routinely targeted by protesters over their alleged mistreatment of animals.
Ringling retired its elephants in May, so it's just big cats that the bill targets. The bill's sponsors worried about the treatment of lions and tigers, claiming that a touring performance schedule was inherently cruel.
"Keeping exotic animals in captivity, transporting them around the country and requiring them to perform tricks night after night for human amusement, in my view, is inherently inhumane," said Corey Johnson, chairman of the council's Health Committee.
Alex Lacy, the circus's big cat trainer, told CBS 2 "the health and well-being of my animals is my top priority every single day."
The mayor's office supports the bill, and City Hall is also trying to keep us away from deer and coyotes. The de Blasio administration unveiled a new wildlife education and awareness campaign today. NYC Wildlife is being launched in response to increased deer and coyote sightings in the city, mainly in Staten Island.
"Recent sightings of deer, coyotes and other unexpected animals make it clear that New York City can be a wild place," Mayor de Blasio said in a statement. "WildlifeNYC’s emphasis on education, outreach, and humane population control will help all New Yorkers care for our urban environment - and the animals who share it with us."
The campaign will feature ads in subways and buses with adorable looking deer dubbed "New Yorkers," with captions like "City dwellers take many forms." The ads then direct residents to go to the campaign's website to "learn to live alongside deer." The lesson the city wants us to learn is pretty simple: stay away from them, and let the city do its job, which is sterilizing these wandering speed bumps en masse.
The city launched a program in September in which teams working at night are "capturing, sterilizing, ear tagging and radio collaring deer across Staten Island," according to the Wildlife NYC website.
The city said that an aerial survey of Staten Island in 2014 established a minimum population count of 763 deer over 18.7 square miles.
Lyme disease aside, deer are cute enough to make good models for advertisements, while coyotes, which the program also addresses, do not. A series of coyote sightings last spring was among the first signs that our concrete jungle had not insulated us from the natural world as we had believed.
"Keep coyotes wary," the NYC Wildlife website advises. "If you are approached, make yourself look bigger by putting your arms up, and make loud noises until the coyote retreats. Appreciate coyotes from a distance." Sure, but what we really need is an ad campaign reminding coyotes to keep their distance from us.
Tagged
circus
City hall
coyotes
Exotic Animals
Lions
Ringling Bros. Deer
Tigers
Wild Animals
Josh Keefe
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
The NYPD has not publicly identified her. People who knew her said she was an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .