At the 2025 Sangamon County Fair, capuchin monkeys Gilligan and Bert were reportedly dressed in children’s clothing and tethered to dogs’ backs as the dogs raced around a ring. A witness told the Chicago Tribune that the monkeys grabbed at a rail as if trying to get off.
Now, a new Illinois law prohibits the exploitation of primates and several other species in traveling acts.
Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 4255 on June 26, and the law took effect July 1. It now protects several species of big cats, along with bears, nonhuman primates, elephants, and hybrids of those animals.
Under Public Act 104-0485, a traveling animal act involves moving animals between locations in trucks, trailers, or railway cars so they can perform for a live audience. The law reaches fairs, circuses, carnivals, parades, and similar events where animals are made to perform tricks or give rides. Knowingly using a protected animal in such an act is a Class A misdemeanor.
In 2017, Illinois passed a law to protect elephants from exploitation in traveling acts, but other wild animals could still be hauled from place to place for performances. The new law extends those protections to more wild animals.
State Senator Linda Holmes said animals used in traveling shows can spend much of their lives in cramped, filthy cages while enduring severe and chronic stress. She called the conditions cruel and heartbreaking.
While the new law brings meaningful progress, some wild animals remain outside its protections. As Lady Freethinker reported in May, zoos and other permanent facilities licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are exempt, even when their confinement and use raise serious welfare concerns. There is some good news: Cities and other local governments remain free to adopt stronger animal-welfare protections to protect the wild animals this law still leaves behind.
Wild animals are not props, and no performance is worth dressing them in costumes, confining them for travel, or forcing them through tricks for applause. Lady Freethinker applauds Illinois for expanding this ban and protecting more animals from exploitation in traveling shows.
