Wild Animals (Circuses)

No I will not; the hon. Gentleman was not here for much of the debate. The legal advice we have received on section 12 of the 2006 Act is that although it could be used as the basis for a total ban, it is highly likely that we would be challenged on the basis that an outright ban was a disproportionate measure for improving welfare in circuses. That is exactly the same advice as the previous Government received in the Radford report, which they commissioned after the discussions in 2006. The report makes it absolutely clear that there was insufficient evidence to ensure that the animals' welfare could be improved only by a ban and not by other means. That was the Radford report's advice, and it remains the legal advice.