General Director of the Bolshoi Circus on Vernadsky Avenue and People’s Artist of Russia Edgard Zapashny assessed the initiative of the New People faction to ban the use of animals in circuses as “ordinary hype” and the source of many false statements.

Zapashny emphasized that the circus and training are not evil, but rather a form of training, similar to how domestic animals are trained, Moskovsky Komsomolets reports.

Zapashny ridiculed the logic of the deputies, pointing out the unreliability of statistics and the incorrectness of the information provided by members of the New People party.

Zapashny denied accusations of cruelty towards animals in the circus and spoke about regular attacks from zoo radicals. He emphasized that circuses can help restore populations of endangered species and have an important social function.