I’M sure most of your readers remember Anne the elephant from earlier this year.

Anne was an elderly, arthritic elephant travelling with Bobby Roberts Circus. She became an overnight celebrity when footage was released showing Anne being beaten by her groom.

Over a three-week period, the undercover footage filmed at the winter quarters of Bobby Roberts’s Circus showed Anne being beaten 48 times.

Public outrage meant that Anne was soon re-homed to live out her days away from the constant transportation and temporary housing of circus life. It was announced this week that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will be prosecuting circus owners, Bobby and Moira Roberts, with causing unnecessary suffering to this animal and failing to meet her needs.

CPS have taken on this case because of the high level of public concern, so thank you to everyone who made their voice heard on this issue.

Anne was one of the lucky ones, she is now out of the circus, but unfortunately there are still about 39 wild animals languishing in UK circuses.

Despite public and political support for a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, the Government have decided not to protect these animals by introducing a ban. Please write to your MP and urge them to introduce a ban, because a ban is the only way to truly protect these animals.

FIONA PEACOCK campaigns officer Captive Animals’ Protection Society PO Box 540 Salford M5 0DS