The operators of the Suarez Brothers Circus may not have been properly advised about the approvals required to operate at the Belle, a water resources expert has suggested, while backing the decision to relocate the attraction because of the potential public health risk posed by activities within the Zone A water protection area.

Former director of the UWI Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), Dr Adrian Cashman, said the concern was not simply the physical location of the circus but the activities associated with its operation and the potential generation of wastewater and other pollutants near one of Barbados’ primary groundwater sources.

Cashman was responding to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office for Economic Affairs and Planning Marsha Caddle, who explained at a press briefing on Tuesday why the circus was moved from the International Botanical Gardens at the Belle to the Garrison Savannah.