Commentary on provisions of Act Section 1: Prohibition on use of wild animals in travelling circuses in England
Subsection (1) sets out the central prohibition in the Act which provides that circus operators are no longer allowed to use wild animals in their travelling circus in England.
	Subsection (2) clarifies that "use" of a wild animal in a circus extends to a performance by the animal and any exhibition of a wild animal as part of the circus. For example, performance would include a parade of animals in a circus ring and an exhibition would include the display of a lion in a cage.
	Subsection (3) establishes that a circus operator is guilty of an offence if that person uses a wild animal in a travelling circus in England in breach of subsection (1). A person guilty of such an offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine of any amount.
	Subsection (4) provides for individual liability in some cases where there is also corporate liability.
	Subsection (5) contains definitions of expressions used in the Act. For instance, a "circus operator" is defined as the owner of the circus or any other person with overall responsibility for the operation of the circus except that, if no such person is present in the United Kingdom, the circus operator will be the person in the United Kingdom who has ultimate responsibility for the operation of the circus. A "wild animal" is defined as any animal of a kind not commonly domesticated in Great Britain, with "animal" taking the same meaning as section 1(1) of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.