A councillor in Galway is seeking a ban on wild animals such as elephants performing in circuses visiting the city.
Green Party councillor Niall Ó Brolcháin is to table a motion before a meeting of Galway City Council asking for support for the move.
A circus worker was seriously injured in an
Green Party councillor Niall Ó Brolcháin
accident in Waterford in June when he entered an elephant enclosure and was gored by the animal.
"I have received numerous representations from constituents who are concerned about the use of wild animals in circuses visiting Galway City," Mr Ó Brolcháin said.
"I have witnessed elephants and camels wandering around a public park without being properly supervised. I have seen young children wandering into enclosures containing wild animals. I have also heard various stories about the abuse of animals within circuses."
"The latest circus to visit Galway included a monkey, which bit a number of people and an elephant who had gored one of the circus workers."
"The monkey has been removed from the circus to a good home but the elephant was still part of the circus along with two other elephants."
Mr Ó Brolcháin said it was "entirely inappropriate" for circuses to bring large wild animals such as elephants, rhinoceroses, camels and giraffes to live in sub-standard conditions in Galway city.
"The best and most popular circus to visit Galway in recent times was the Chinese Circus. It contained no wild animals."
A motion before Galway City Council in September will call for the council to ban circuses which have wild animals from using public lands within the city.
Paul Dineen (34) was seriously injured in June when he was attacked by an elephant at Circus New York in Waterford town.
The 26-year-old African elephant gored him with its tusk, causing a large cut in his side.
Mr Dineen had been working with the circus for 10 years but was not the elephant's trainer. A spokesman for the circus later said Mr Dineen should not have been in the elephant's enclosure at the time of the attack.
Animal welfare groups also called for an end to the use of such animals in circuses following Mr Dineen's injury.