MORE than 30 protesters with placards picketed the entrance of a circus tent when a show which uses animals returned to Chelmsford on Saturday.

The Great British Circus, set up at Essex Regiment Way, was met with boos and hisses from animal rights activists.

The circus, led by Martin Lacey, performs every year across the south east, and owns a number of animals including tigers, camels, horses, ponies and llamas.

They are the only circus group in the country to train big cats such as lions and tigers and have been criticised for their use of adult tigers and cubs.

Protester Leigh Norton, an IT consultant from Old Moulsham, said: "The animals are confined to a space where they can only move a couple of inches backwards and forwards.

"You would think this kind of thing would have stopped in the 70s but, by the looks of it, it seems to still be going strong.

"But it is cruel and inhumane and must stop because they should be free in the wild and we will not stop campaigning for the cause."

But worker Sandro Gibson, 50, for the circus, said: "We do care for the animals, and we are even Defra accredited, so they cannot say anything to us.

"They just read the bits on the internet that they want to read and leave out the rest which is typical, and they are shouting at cars of children, which is just not right.

"Every year they come and every year we are still here, and we get the last laugh at the end of the day."

But first-time animal protester Martin Rowe, 42, from Chelmsford, said: "I do not like the way the circus is indoctrinating the youth to make them believe that animals should be kept in cages.

"This is my first animal rights protest, and I feel it can be something I can really get my teeth into."

Captive Animals' Protection Society director Liz Tyson said: "We are very supportive of all local groups in these peaceful protests.

"It is our duty to make these concerns known to the government and we are starting up a campaign again to get legislation passed to ban animals from the circus once and for all."