For lions Jon, Celeste, Patty, Hannah and Marli, new face-to-face trial with their torturer
Following his conviction earlier this year for what he did to Jon, Céleste, Patty, Hannah and Marli, trainer Steve Gougeon has appealed the judges’ decision. Never mind, we’ll be there again to defend the five lions, this October 17 at 1:30 p.m. at the Rouen Court of Appeal.
Among circus performers, the best defense is denial. Steve Gougeon has demonstrated this once again. Although in early 2024 he was found guilty of the mistreatment and suffering inflicted on the lion Jon and his companions Céleste, Patty, Hannah and Marli over many years, he appealed his conviction. The sentence was commensurate with his actions: a two-month suspended prison sentence, five fines, permanent confiscation of the lionesses, a five-year ban on working with animals and reimbursement of One Voice’s rescue costs. But rather than keeping a low profile, the Paris Circus’ trainer preferred to persist in his denial.
At Paris Circus, to save money, we wait until the animals starve to death
Despite his conviction earlier this year, Steve Gougeon has not stopped his misdeeds. Last February, we rescued eight more of the animals under his control. Abandoned in a muddy field in the middle of winter, they would have withered to death if local residents and the town hall hadn’t taken matters into their own hands and alerted us.
This is how the long agony of Jon and his companions had begun: having abandoned them to their fate in a trailer, the trainer was simply waiting for the felines to starve to death before getting rid of them. For two years, we followed them from town to town as the circus moved, watching them slowly go downhill. Their rescue was finally ordered when they were at death’s door, in two stages.
This October 17 at 1:30 pm, One Voice will be present at the Rouen Court of Appeal to call to mind all the suffering endured by these animals: cachectic, teeth ground down, fangs broken, claws pulled out, wounds left untreated… and to demand a punishment as exemplary as the previous one.
Jon, whose body was deeply bruised by years of mistreatment, died on January 29, 2022. Today, Céleste, Patty, Hannah and Marli live a true lioness life in our sanctuary in Italy. Join us in calling for a ban on animals in circuses.
The case was adjourned to April 3, 2025, 1:30 p.m., Steve Gougeon having argued that he had been notified “too late” of the October 17 hearing.
An exemplary conviction!
Steve Gougeon, head trainer of Cirque de Paris (and in particular of the lion we had renamed Jon), finally decided, a few days before the hearing, to withdraw his appeal. He didn’t even bother to come and inform the court.
He was therefore definitively sentenced to a two-month suspended prison sentence and five fines. Most importantly, Céleste, Patty, Hannah and Marli have been permanently confiscated and he is banned from working with animals. He will also have to reimburse One Voice for the costs incurred in caring for and keeping the felines: a sum approaching 200,000 euros.
A magnificent victory and a glimmer of hope for all the animals locked up in circus trucks and mistreated under the guise of “entertainment.”
We will remain vigilant to ensure that the circus owner does not do it again, as he did just a few days after his conviction in the first instance: eight of his other animals were entrusted to us in February 2024 and are now safe too.