Monday 24 June 2019 | 59

La Piste aux étoiles, is always in the crosshairs

La Piste aux étoiles, is always in the crosshairs

Mis à jour le 08 April 2020

La Piste aux étoiles always shines as much with its shortcomings. This circus, which we forced to let Maya go, continues to mistreat other captives and present them to the public while flouting safety rules. We are filing a new complaint against this establishment and requesting that the animals be entrusted to us.

Hr blog

Since our alert last December, our investigators have maintained, in the shadows, their rigorous surveillance of La Piste aux Étoiles. Because within this sparkly glitzy named circus, many animals live day by day under awful conditions.

A show of desolation

After obtaining the transfer of Maya the elephant a year ago, we are fighting today to save its former companions who are also suffering in misfortune like Nelly and Brigit, the lion Sirius and 18 other big cats, as well as all the monkeys detained by this establishment. These unfortunates vegetate most of their time in tiny, rusty cages or rickety transportation facilities, devoid of any enrichment to distract them from this misery and they lack hiding places to get away from prying eyes. Their most basic needs are disregarded: it is impossible to claw anything for the tigers or even simply to drink at will for most prisoners! Not to mention the ubiquitous unhealthiness, with straw mattresses dripping in excrement. In this miserable atmosphere, these prisoners are reduced to taking two steps forward and two steps backwards throughout the day. And when despair takes over, they injure themselves, like Sirius, by bumping into the bars of its cage.

Recreation and punishment

While some prisoners never get out of their confinement, others like Nelly and Brigit have this rare "privilege" to leave their pen for a few minutes a day. Why? To relax, move and breathe? No, of course not. They are led under the tent to do the show. And what a spectacle: the pain of forcing their elderly bodies to sit upon stools, the pain of forcing their feet to play with large balls and the pain of riding on each other or trying to stand and balance on tubes with their front legs.

We will save them all!

This hell must end ! Our hard and relentless investigations, the images, the expert reports that we have patiently collected so far demonstrate the obvious distress of these animals and the numerous violations of this establishment vis-à-vis the regulations in force. We not only have evidence of mistreatment, but also serious safety deficiencies which are endangering the general public! We are therefore once again filing a complaint against La Piste aux Étoiles. As for Maya, we urgently also request the seizure of Nelly, Brigit, and the other wild animals, the primates and zebras so that they can be entrusted to us while awaiting the hearing. For them all this period of injustice must end ! We will not forget anyone !

Marie-Sophie Bazin
Hr blog

In the subject

Against all odds for Samba, the last ‘circus’ elephant, whose suffering has broken the State’s indifference We will defend the animals from the Franco-Belge Circus before the courts.

Comments 59

I accept that publication of my comments is subject to the code of conduct.

Corine | Tuesday 02 July 2019

Honteux ! Laissez ces animaux dans des sanctuaires, ils ont assez souffert.

isaline | Monday 01 July 2019

C'est bien malheureux! Ils ne méritent pas une telle vie !
Cela prendra fin le jour où les gens n'iront plus au cirque !

Cat | Monday 01 July 2019

Marre de la maltraitance sous toutes ses formes

Naty | Sunday 30 June 2019

Des cirques avec des non humains on n'en veut plus ! Qu'ont-ils fait pour mériter ce sordide sort et ces mauvais traitements qu'on leur inflige ?!