A TRAVELLING circus which has been based at Haydock Park Racecourse in St Helens for the last week has strongly denied allegations that they mistreat their animals.

A group of protesters from Haydock and the surrounding area have been targetting the Bobby Roberts Circus since it opened claiming that the attraction is subjecting their animals, which include elephants, llamas, horses and dogs, to what they call cruel and unnecessary practices.

However, Jean Floyd, a spokeswoman for the circus firmly denied these claims and told the Star: "The Bobby Roberts Circus is a member of the Association of Circus Proprietors and we are regularly subject to stringent testing procedures by vets to make sure that our animals are happy and comfortable and we have never had a problem yet. In fact, last Saturday, the Association voted us the Circus of the Year."

But Lisa Gallagher, one of the protesters, said: "They have a lot of domestic animals like horses which are made to perform every night and they also make the elephants give rides to the children which we don't think is right. On one of the nights we were protesting, the circus manager came down and he was very intimidating about us saying we were causing trouble yet all we were doing was handing out leaflets."

She added: "Our animals love what they do and the people who pack the ring to see them night after night could tell you that. Everyone is welcome to come backstage and see them after the performances and they love all the attention they get.

"Most of these demonstrators who claim we don't treat our animals right don't know the first thing about animals - they are just looking for something to protest about - but as far as we are concerned, people vote with their feet and as soon as they see our animals, they know we look after them."

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