Circus animals may no longer be welcome in Somerville

By Tom Nash Following concerns about the treatment of circus animals raised by a constituent of Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche, circuses with wild animals as a part of their act may have to skip Somerville. In explaining why she joined Roche in asking the city solicitor to draft an ordinance to "ban wild animals from being displayed in circuses," Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz listed some of the abuses faced by circus elephants. "In Somerville, a place where we promote humanity and making sure we don't have abuse, I think we should act on this as soon as possible," Gewirtz said. The order was approved at the Feb. 12 Board of Alderman meeting. Revere, Quincy, Braintree, Weymouth and Provincetown have passed similar laws banning circus animals. The issue will be taken up by the Legislative Matters committee.