“We consider it a victory for the animals,” said Drew Winter, president of SPAR and a columnist for The State News. “(Breslin Center will be) one less venue catering to the abuse of animals.”

Ed Purchis, secretary-treasurer of the Caravan Youth Center, a Lansing-based charity that hosts the Royal Hanneford Circus, said the circus has raised more than $1 million for local youth charities and is Caravan’s sole fundraiser.

The circus has been held in the Lansing area for 28 years. It originally took place at the Lansing Civic Center, beginning in 1981, and moved to Breslin Center in 1992.

Purchis said he did not believe SPAR’s allegations of animal abuse by the Royal Hanneford Circus. The original allegations of abuse came from the Web site for the People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

The Animal Welfare Act requires circus acts to be licensed and inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a regular basis, Purchis said.

“SPAR’s mission is to ban all animal-related performing on campus, and that’s ridiculous,” he said.

The policy change also could affect the rodeo and Lipizzaner Stallions show scheduled to take place in February at the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education.

MSU released a statement acknowledging Caravan’s charity work and the university’s attempts to compromise over the circus situation, which Caravan rejected.

“MSU and Hanneford Circus were both prepared to have a circus at the Breslin that did not feature animals — a format growing in popularity and offered by Hanneford,” the statement read. “Apparently Caravan rejected that concept.”

MSU will seek a way to contribute to the charities affected by the decision. The center is now looking for a new venue in Lansing to host the circus this year.

“I think the Greater Lansing area has the right to make their own decision to support a traditional circus through their attendance,” Purchis said.