At the 2025 Sangamon County Fair, two capuchin monkeys were dressed in costumes and strapped to dogs racing around a small track, an act Illinois has since banned. Marc Ayers, Illinois state director for Humane World for Animals, attended the disturbing Banana Derby performance and said the monkeys repeatedly grasped at the guardrails as the dogs rounded the track. Big cats were still being used in traveling performances across Illinois. Culpepper & Merriweather Circus toured

An investigation into wildlife tourism and food sourcing in Southeast Asia has placed renewed scrutiny on David Marriott, chairman of Marriott International and a trustee of the National Geographic Society. The investigation, released June 9, 2026, by the International Council for Animal Welfare, examines wildlife tourism attractions and food suppliers in Thailand and Bali, Indonesia. Investigators say the facilities are connected to Marriott-linked travel offerings and the c

Illinois lawmakers have approved a bill intended to broadly expand protections for wild animals by extending the state’s ban on using them in traveling shows. Governor JB Pritzker must now decide whether to sign it into law. If signed, Illinois House Bill 4255 would expand Illinois’ ban on elephants in traveling acts to also cover cougars, jaguars, lions, tigers, primates, bears, hybrids of these species, and most leopards. Amur leopards are excluded from the leopard category