Cirque Muller: still illegal, still just as indecent for animals
Once again, the circus ‘Cirque Muller’ has set up camp and is flouting the law. Infringements, animal abuse and outdated displays being offered under the hypocritical guise of “entertainment”. Despite the ban, baby tigers have been born, while an endangered monkey is forced to ride on the back of a pony in the ring. Jumbo languishes in a tiny tub of stagnant water, a symbol of the authorities’ inaction. We have once again referred the matter to the authorities, calling for strict controls followed by exemplary punishment.
A circus with a ghostly existence, set up without rights or respect
It was in the car park of a shopping area in Arles that the ‘Grand Cirque Zavatta’ popped up, without authorisation and against the wishes of the local population, for a series of performances from 22 July to 1 August. Behind this false façade, with no legal existence, is the Muller family, infamous for its constant disregard for the law.
Despite a complaint from local shopkeepers supported by the mayor of Arles, Patrick de Carolis, the circus was able to perform. By the time the courts reacted, the circus performers had had plenty of time to dismantle their equipment, flee and start again elsewhere, with complete impunity.
Illegally born tiger cubs, destined to suffer
In a trailer at the back of the circus, three young tigers, just a few months old. Their very existence is an offence: since December 2023, the breeding of wild animals in travelling circuses has been banned. These cubs were not born by accident: they were born to be trained, exhibited and broken. Like the lion cubs of the Claudio Zavatta circus, they embody a deadly trend tolerated by a complicit State.
In 2028, the exploitation of non-domestic species is set to end. But what about until then? These young felines will have known nothing but cages, coercion and fear. By perpetuating these illegal births, the Muller family is increasing the number of living beings that we will one day have to rescue from exploitation. The State turns a blind eye. The sanctuaries are already overflowing.
Humiliation in the ring: a Barbary ape, threatened with extinction, harnessed to a pony, Jumbo still being tormented
The height of abjection is reached under the big top. A Barbary macaque —on the red list of endangered species*, dressed in grotesque trousers, is tied to the back of a pony forced to run round and round the track. This scene, which some still call a ‘show’, is a caricature of animal humiliation. Meanwhile, children laugh. They are being taught that causing suffering can be fun.
And then there is Jumbo, whom One Voice has been tirelessly following for ten years. Confinement, isolation: the complaints and reports keep coming in. His living conditions, which are illegal for a hippopotamus, have never changed. Until recently, he was stuck in a tub of stagnant, stinking water under the blazing sun. He is dragged into the ring by force. The director, with chilling irony, boasts of his ability to run at 50 km/h and face crocodiles. Then he mentions the ‘beauty’ of his skin. Is this what we want to convey? That suffering sells, as long as it shines under a spotlight? And that stagnant water is an unknown beauty secret?
The Mullers had already moved back to Uzès at the beginning of August. We have reported these alarming findings and clear violations to the prefectures of the regions of Bouches-du-Rhône and Gard, calling for inspections followed by exemplary punishment.
Let us demand an immediate end to this disgrace.
Let us save Jumbo after 40 years of captivity! Join us in calling for his urgent transfer to a sanctuary.
And let us demand even more: sign the petition for a total ban on animals in circuses. This fight is not a whim. It is a moral necessity.
*Last category before extinction status, according to the global classification established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).