A Court in Bourges to save four lionesses: Press Release
Following several adjournments, One Voice is calling for those responsible to be finally held to account in this case of illegal detention and mistreatment of wild big cats, which are now being cared for in a sanctuary.
On 27 May 2026, One Voice will be present at the District Court of Bourges as part of the proceedings brought against the managers of the Ricardo Zavatta Circus. The hearing is scheduled for 2.00 pm. The association denounces the conditions in which four lionesses and a white tigress were being kept, which were uncovered in early 2023 during an investigation carried out in collaboration with the association Free Life. Originally scheduled for 14 November 2024, the hearing was first adjourned to 24 September 2025 before being postponed again to 27 May 2026.
Disturbing facts confirmed by the French Office for Biodiversity
During several days of investigation in the Allier region, the organisations found that the big cats were being kept locked up in a trailer with no outdoor access and in conditions incompatible with the fundamental needs of their species. In particular, the animals exhibited stereotyped behaviours indicative of profound psychological distress.
After One Voice and Free Life referred the matter to the courts, the trainers left the region. It was not until June 2023, when the Gougeon brothers illegally set up camp in the commune of Santranges, in the Cher region, that the French Office for Biodiversity carried out an inspection. The inspectors then confirmed the allegations that the organisations had been making for several months: a persistent lack of outdoor access for the big cats and inadequate identification of certain animals – a situation likely to facilitate illegal trafficking.
Hundreds of wild cats still held by circuses in France
In a rare move in this type of case, the authorities finally seized the four lionesses and the tigress. The animals were then placed in the care of Tonga Terre d’Accueil.
“This hearing should serve as a reminder of the seriousness of the findings and the need to fully enforce the regulations protecting captive wild animals. Whilst the lionesses and the tigress are now safe, this must not make us forget the years of deprivation and confinement they endured, nor all those animals suffering terribly who are still held in these travelling circuses”, says One Voice.
Through these proceedings, One Voice also aims to draw attention to the breaches still regularly observed in certain travelling circuses, despite the 2021 law against animal cruelty, which provides for the phasing out of wild animals in travelling shows.
France is believed to still have several hundred captive animals under big tops, the majority of which are big cats.
The offences are observed, documented and known to the authorities, yet the circuses continue to operate with impunity. Worse still: the State persists in supporting them and propping them up financially, preparing to distribute hundreds of thousands of euros of public money. The message is disastrous.
One Voice is calling on the general public to sign its petition against the exploitation of animals in circuses.
A Court in Bourges to save four lionesses: Press Release
Hearing at the District Court of Bourges on 27 May: One Voice continues its fight for four lionesses and a tigress from the Ricardo Zavatta Circus