The use of wild animals in circus performances has declined significantly due to welfare concerns, though the transition is incomplete globally.
Circus wild animal welfare is an area where scientific consensus and public values have increasingly aligned: wild animals cannot be trained to perform unnatural behaviors without methods that involve fear, pain, or deprivation, and the confinement and transport inherent in traveling circus life is incompatible with adequate welfare for large, wide-ranging animals. Lions, tigers, and elephants in circuses experience chronic welfare compromise from inadequate space, abnormal social conditions, and the psychological stress of traveling through unfamiliar environments. The global trend toward banning wild animal circus acts reflects a societal judgment that entertainment value does not justify this welfare cost. Countries maintaining wild animal acts are increasingly outliers internationally, and complete phase-out represents an achievable and appropriate welfare goal.