Minneapolis Council members want circus animal ban

(AP) - A couple of Minneapolis City Council members plan to introduce a ban on performances by circus animals.

Council members Ralph Remington and Cam Gordon want to amend city ordinances to prohibit circuses from bringing elephants, tigers and other wild animals into Minneapolis.

Remington says the proposed ban is aimed at providing more humane treatment of wild animals.

Animals rights activists have lobbied for the ban. But a spokesman for the Outdoor Amusement Business Association, which represents circuses and carnivals, calls the idea un-American.

Some other North American cities have enacted bans on circus animals. But proposed bans have failed in other cities.