"Jungle Park": the face of a permanent circus
At a time when MPs are working on a bill to ban the exploitation of animals in circuses, we are warning against the fact that trainers will be allowed to settle down. This would mean keeping animals in conditions that are as dramatic as ever. Like Medrano’s “Jungle Park”.
What does a permanent circus look like? Take a look at the “Jungle Park” where Mina and Kamala are kept, and you’ll get the idea. After years of performing on the road or on stools, these 55-year-old elephants are now vegetating on the technical base of the Medrano circus in Aimargues (30). Thanks to our successive administrative appeals, we have obtained the suspension of the opening of the establishment to the public in September 2020. This is already a step forward, and proves that the DDSCPP and OFB inspection found irregularities. However, the owner has not been condemned: he has simply received a formal notice.
Mina and Kamala still suffering
In the meantime, our complaint is still ongoing for these elephants abandoned to their sad fate. That’s why we have just filed an addition to the complaint to the prosecutor at the Nîmes judicial court. Last December, our investigators managed to bring back new images of Mina, who was separated from Kamala at the time of the shooting. Left outside in temperatures ranging from 4 to 8°C, she struggled against the cold under an open marquee and continued to display stereotyped behaviors, eloquent symptoms of her mental distress.
Expertise
Dr. Schaftenaar, a veterinary surgeon and zoologist who viewed the videos, was also concerned about her physical condition. He noted “abnormal” movements in her left knee joint: “It seems that the patella does not move smoothly in the patellar trochlea of the femur. This problem needs to be confirmed by clinical examination by a qualified veterinarian”. He also observed “rhythmic muscular contractions […] at the junction between the body and the right front leg, and on the rest of the body”. Here again, the expert recommended a clinical examination, including blood analysis and hematology, as “this condition is known to occur in kidney disease”.
Tigers confined “a la Masson”
Mina and Kamala are not the only ones kept in conditions that contravene the derisory minimum legal standards. Tigers are also penned on top of each other in a cage truck, as at Mario Masson’s. Some of them stretch their paws through the bars, others have a dull look in their eyes. There’s no provision for them to kill time. It’s illegal and unbearable! We are asking for a protective seizure so that the elephants and tigers will be seized and put in a sanctuary. And we will fight in the same way for all the animals who will remain at the mercy of circuses, whether itinerant or sedentary.