TIME has marched firmly and irreversibly on for wild animals performing in circuses.

The Government is signalling it will almost certainly drop the final legislative curtain for travelling circuses – but in many ways it will be shutting the stable door with only a few animals left inside.

Zippo’s owner Martin Burton is right that the movement to remove all animals is from a vocal minority whose protests make them appear to be a much larger group.

But customer tastes more than anything have seen the days when lions, tigers and elephants were the staple of such shows long since pass – and circus owners have reacted because it makes business sense to do so.

The world has changed dramatically over the past 20 years so that circuses and zoos are no longer the only places people can see ‘wild’ animals up close. Travel and the information age — through television and the Internet — mean people can appreciate these animals in their natural habitats.

A trip to the circus is still a great treat – but today’s children are far more used to being wowed by entertainers on two legs rather than four.