Housing

Transportation Housing

If travelling time will be longer than two hours, vehicles must stop for at least 10 minutes every two hours so that animals and their facilities can be properly inspected, and to provide food and water as required (water should be removed before the vehicle restarts to avoid spilling and placing animals at risk of drowning).

Stationary periods

There must be a stationary period of at least 12 hours in any 24-hour period, when the circus moves between venues or layover sites.

Radio transceivers

Vehicles carrying animals should have a radio transceiver and use the same channel for prompt communication. If transceivers are unavailable, a vehicle not carrying animals must follow at the rear to provide emergency assistance.

Fresh air and sunlight

If vehicles stop for longer than 15 minutes during the day in an area away from a township, their sides or tailgates must be opened (weather permitting) to allow fresh air and sunlight to enter the animals' quarters.

Safe vehicles

All circuses in Australia must provide appropriate and safe vehicles for transporting animals between venues.

Layovers

There must be at least two layover periods a year, including one of at least two weeks so that transportation equipment can be overhauled and the animals given a rest from training and performance. [1]

At layover sites circuses must ensure that their animal housing complies with the standards outlined in this document.

Holding parks

When circus animals are held in holding parks they must be provided with housing that satisfies requirements for static displays for equivalent zoo species in that state or territory.

Equipment replacement

Since 1 September 2001, circuses have been required to replace or modify sub-standard equipment. Each circus is required to develop a phasing-in program in conjunction with the Animal Welfare Unit for the purchase of new equipment.

Compliance documents

Circus proprietors must always have compliance documents in their possession. Equipment that does not have compliance documentation will be deemed illegal after September 2001.

Circuses must comply with all other relevant animal transport requirements not specific to circus transportation.

Performance itineraries

An itinerary, including performance sites, holding parks and layover sites, must be supplied to the relevant department prior to entry into a state or territory, or as soon as practicable afterwards.

All relevant permission must be accessible during travel within the state or territory for inspection purposes.

Big cats

Since big cats tend to defecate in one given area of a cage, sleeping areas and the food placement should be set as far away as possible from this area. Where cats do not defecate in one area, containers and bedding must be raised off the cage floor.

Cage flooring must be waterproof and graded to enable quick drainage and drying after cleaning.

Hardwood planking is the minimum acceptable flooring material, but is very hard to keep clean. Steel plating covered in a waterproof plastic coating has been used successfully recently.

Straw bedding that is changed regularly will provide adequate insulation and padding.

All facilities housing carnivores must allow access only through a double-locked door that allows clear vision into the enclosure. The animals must be excluded from the area before the keeper or handler enters.

Transport facilities that hold carnivores must provide adequate insulation from the sun's heat and adequate ventilation.

The transport compartment for each big cat must be big enough the animal to stand in its normal posture, lie down fully stretched, and turn around without coming into contact with neighbouring animals.

Dogs

Dogs must not be transported unrestrained on the backs of open vehicles.

Ungulates and camelids

Ungulates and camelids must be transported in floats with internal partitioning (stalls) to restrain each animal safely. The float must have a roof to provide shade and shelter and solid sides with apertures to admit light and ventilation, and to allow adequate visual inspection of the animals inside.

Separate stalls are not required when uungulates and camelids of the same size are transported together. Animals of different size and weight must have separate stalls to eliminate the risk of smaller animals being crushed.

Loose items, or those that may become loose, must be secured. Whether animals are in stalls or grouped during transport, they must be sufficiently contained so that they cannot turn around. A padded breast bar may be used in each stall as added protection for horses and ponies.

Feed cribs must be designed and used in a way that minimises risk of injury.

For transportation of camelids, the floor of the vehicle must not be built in a way that will injure the pedicle and the pads on the animals’ backlegs. The vehicle’s base should be free of protrusions that would discourage the camels from sitting down.

Camelids normally sit during transportation. If they are tethered, the tether needs to be long enough to allow them to move freely up and down.

Ungulates must not be held solely in their transportation floats while the circus is at a performance site. The exceptions are when a float is the best shelter for a sick animal, or in bad weather. In these cases, proper bedding and hygienic conditions must be maintained.

Elephants

Except in short-term exceptional circumstances, elephants must be transported in enclosed floats strong enough to withstand the elephant’s weight either leaning or being thrown against the sidewalls. The float must be well ventilated to prevent build-up of heat and waste gases.

During transportation, each elephant must be able to stand up normally but unable to turn around and injure itself. This can be achieved by stalling each elephant or housing them side-by-side widthways..

There must not be anything inside the vehicle that could injure the animal. The vehicle must allow adequate and safe inspection of all elephants during transportation.

During transportation, dry fodder may be offered, provided it is contained in a feed crib within easy reach of the animals and cannot cause the elephants injury.

Monkeys and chimpanzees

Since transport wagons for primates also often act as their display facility, the transport wagon must be designed to cater for their total needs.

Where primates do not defecate in a particular area of the wagon, sleeping areas and the placement of food should be raised above the cage floor.

Compartments for transporting primates must provide enough space for each animal to stand normally posture, lie down fully stretched, and turn around.

Where individual primates are known to be aggressive towards other primates, or in the case of nursing mothers, they must be physically (but not visually) separated from the others during transport. In other circumstances, primates may travel in group housing.

Hardwood flooring is an acceptable material for transport wagons, and suitable bedding material must be provided.

All facilities housing primates must provide access to the animals only through a double-locked door that allows clear vision into the enclosure. The animals must be excluded from this area before the keeper enters.

Transport facilities holding primates must provide insulation from the sun's heat as well as adequate ventilation.

Birds

During transportation, birds must be confined to a small cage that provides physical protection.

A perch must be provided and positioned so that the bird’s extremities (including its feathers) are at least 6cm above the cage floor, regardless of the bird’s posture.

The cage must be large enough so that the bird can extend its head, feet, wingtips and feathers, and turn around without touching the cage walls, ceiling, or cage furniture, regardless of its posture or whether it is on its perch or not.

Also see Display Housing and Night Quarters.

[1] The animals must have at least one month’s rest in any 12-month period. One of these layover periods must be an uninterrupted period of at least two weeks. The other days can be rest days at regular intervals.