MOSCOW, March 12 (RAPSI) – Russia’s Ministry of Culture has proposed a bill that would protect circus animals and those used for entertainment purposes from cruelty and physical punishment.

The bill has been posted on an official website reserved for the posting of bills drafted by federal agencies.

The bill proposes prohibiting the use of punishment “that can endanger the animal’s health or that is so painful as to cause stress.”

“Animals must be handled with due regard for the biological and individual characteristics of their species and with the use of methods that exclude the possibility of physical or psychological traumas, stress, or considerable pain,” the bill says. “Animals can only be used in creative projects if this does not endanger their life and health.”

“Relations between people and animals in creative projects should be based on playfulness, demonstration of the animal’s beauty and humane methods of training,” according to the bill.

Animal training must be based on the knowledge of the animal’s features, anatomy and physiology, as well as on careful study of the given animal’s individual traits.