The practice of supplying wild animals to house parties and other private events is set to become illegal, after the Los Angeles City Council approved a ban, Tuesday, Feb. 18, on using exotic and potentially dangerous animals for entertainment purposes.

Circuses and abusive animal-training tactics have been banned in Los Angeles, but some companies that train or rent out animals were allowed to supply them to private events — such as a Hollywood Hills party that caught a councilman’s attention back in 2016. That party featured a baby giraffe and an elephant, according to Ryu, who authored the ban. He said in a statement that the ban is aimed at making it “absolutely clear that this abuse of wild animals is shameful, and we will not stand for it.”

Ryu said after the vote on Tuesday that he came upon the phenomenon of wild animals being rented out to house parties after responding to complaints of particularly loud and unruly shindigs at billionaire’s homes in the hills. At the time, there were no ways to cite the fact that wild animals were found at such parties, he said.

Once signed by the mayor, the ban would make it illegal to for wild, exotic and dangerous animals to be made to perform tricks, give rides or provide an “accompaniment” for entertainment reasons. It would limit companies from supplying animals “off-site” without a permit.

The ban should not affect animals trained for movies and TV, although the ordinance approved Tuesday calls for companies working with producers and studios to give the city’s Animal Services Department 10 days notice when applying for permits. That requirement has prompted some concerns from local animal suppliers.

Conservation organizations would still be able to feature animals at education presentations, but are barred from having animals at events where alcohol is served and where there is amplified music, to eliminate any loopholes that some companies may use to keep supplying animals, officials said.

The ban takes effect 30 days after being signed by the mayor, and could be in effect by April, according to Ryu’s office.

Animal-rights activists in recent years have urged city officials to rein in the use of exotic animals for entertainment. In 2014, the council banned the use of bullhooks, a sharp baton-like tool, to train elephants, saying it was an abusive practice. The ban went into effect in 2017, and was believed to have forced circuses to leave Los Angeles and eventually across the state of California, when state lawmakers approved a similar ban.

And just recently, circuses featuring wild animal acts were banned entirely from California.

Catherine Doyle, the director of PAWS, said in a letter to the City Council that the use of wild animals for amusement is “inhumane for the animals and unsafe for the public.”

“Most people don’t know that wild animals used for public interactions have been taken from their mothers shortly after birth so they can be hand-raised and controlled,” Doyle wrote.