In battle for Boulie, the "circus" hippopotamus

We can't deny that: William Kerwich, director of the Royal Kerwich circus, the general delegate of the Circus Collective, has understood how much our fight has been for the liberation of Jumbo, held by the Muller circus. More over for circuses in general to be without animals. So, he deploys “communication” as a smoke-screen around “his” hippo Boulie…

"What happiness!"

The images posted on his circus Facebook page should not be misleading: Boulie is shown there in a temperary pool and also in a muddy water hole at the edge of the field which must be her winter quarters. In fact, many Internet users congratulate the circus on the good care given to animals, one even going so far as to conclude: "Adorable! Animals love to play and show off! Reality! What happiness. Objective achieved, finally with those who believe in it, and who want to believe in it at all costs.

Because the place of a hippopotamus will and must never be in the cages of an itinerant circus or under the crushing sun of the Côte d'Azur and where none of them should exist. Even when out of water and if watered from time to time, this fundamentally gregarious animal is found here, in the presence that is Boulie, the only representative of its species. Alone and kept captive in an environment that has nothing to do with her essential needs: swimming freely, which relieves her joints, free fodder, the calm of the nights in the thickets bordering the river, and a permanent communication, in and out of the water, with its congeners…

Abusive messages

So do not confuse good "communication" with reality, because between the two the gap is large. Boulie is thus present on certain recent posters of a circus with a totally misleading dialogue. One of them entitled: "Closer to the animals", and even boasts an intuitive educational and cultural show: "with animals from a breeding and preservation program for species monitored by state veterinarians", a program we would love to know all about!
It sounds like social work, a humanitarian action, when it comes to a wild species which is over exhibited and lugged around from pillar to post. A true work of wildlife conservation, without a doubt! It goes without saying that the circus obviously does not have a permit to be a zoological park, any more than for it to be a "day care centre". Furthermore, the newly opened winter quarters which are open to the public do not comply with the regulations of a zoological park.

In an article about this “really” Royal circus, we see a photo showing a trainer feeding Boulie and which is captioned: “Rodolphe Kerwich (eighth generation artist) and Boulie. They are both 21 years old and grew up together.” One would almost cry in front of so much love, but the first character here, the trainer, is free and the second, the hippo, is held and exhibited to the public, before and during a show, without any particular artistic interest what so ever (to climb upon a platform, oh such a beautiful affair!). The impact of such shows is totally counterproductive in terms of teaching, especially for children who should never be led to believe that an animal, wild by nature, can ever be happy in a circus.

A prisoner, that's all she is, strolling along the roads then to be thrown into a pasture full of noisy and hilarious audiences, over and over again.

Boulie, Jumbo: the same fight

The fight for Jumbo will soon arrive on the judicial front: indeed, the trial for ill-treatment will finally take place. We are not fooled by the reality which is that of Boulie and we file a complaint for ill-treatment, ill-treatment committed by a professional. Placement or maintenance of a captive wild animal in a habitat, environment or installation that may be the cause of suffering and exploitation. Improper holding of non-domestic animals, violation of the conservation of non-domestic animal species ... We hope that the judges will hear the argument that the life offered to such an animal, protected, can only be suffering , even in disguise ... and of which we cannot laugh either, when Boulie escaped the circus in 2018 to go for a walk in the vegetable patch of a local person living near the marquees as in our video of this summer 2019. An unusual variety of facts revealing in fine detail all the lack of seriousness with which one considers the life of a living being and the way in which in reality only shows suffering and loneliness of this hippo.

Support the fight for Boulie by sending a message to the Prefect of Var:

• via Twitter @ Prefet83

• via the contact form on the Prefecture website

• via postal mail, taking inspiration for example from the letter download it here, at: Préfecture du Var boulevard du 112ème Régiment d´Infanterie, 83070 Toulon, France

Please continue to sign and share our petition for #CirquesSansAnimaux.