At the circus Lydia Zavatta, one even "trains" humans

Open-mindedness and dialogue are definitely not the strong point of some circuses. It must be said that when one has the habit of exercising one's power over big cats, why stop there when confronting a defenceless woman, whose only protection is a camera and some disturbing questions?

An activist assaulted

Christine Laure (this is a pseudonym) one of our faithful activists, has suffered a bitter experience. It was on October 24^th, in La Queue-en-Brie (Val de Marne). Where the circus Lydia Zavatta had settled for a few days in this town, our sympathizer went on the spot to take a series of shots of the lions, tigers, camels, llamas, dromedaries, zebus and horses let to vegetate outside of the marquee.

Particularly moved by the stereotypical behaviour of the felines and appalling conditions of their detention. Christine then went to the store (a large toy store outlet) whose car park housed fairgrounds.  Her objective was to make the store aware of the plight of these animal hostages who are used in live shows. It went very badly ... At the reception, she found herself face to face with two circus people, then a third who, according to her testimony, first outrageously insulted her when she asked them politely if It was conceivable to exercise their profession without the use of animals. Despite the flood of insults that rained down on her and the order to "clear off", Christine did not leave, she kept her ground. She reported that within five minutes, one of the men grabbed her upper arm and wrist violently to then force her out. The result of the operation: The filing of a complaint against the alleged aggressor and suffering from sharp pains with four-days unable to work. 

Violence as a profession

The misadventure of Christine Laure is unfortunately not an isolated case. As recently as last September, other members of our team have also suffered brutality from different circuses in the city of Narbonne. Faced with such acts, it is clear that engaging in a semblance of constructive reflection with hardened advocates of mistreatment is an impossible task. Hostility and violence are customary within this environment. One only has to witness the state of absolute distress of these lions, tigers and other wild animal victims, hidden away in boxes between performances where they are to be transformed into clowns, to be otherwise convincing.

Arm wrestling

However, we are not relenting our efforts. Since it is a fight that must be fought, we pursue it. As peaceful warriors, but as warriors all the same. To save the lions and tigers owned by the owners of Lydia Zavatta, we therefore lodge a complaint against this circus and we will continue to campaign against all of these oppressors of the wild, the one’s called "tamers", for as long as they are there. You can help us in this fight by supporting our petition and as well as mobilizing you can contact your councils and supermarkets who still host these "entertainers" from a bygone. However, avoid direct confrontation if you value your wrists. The story of Christine Laure is a testimony to this.

Pictures : Christine Laure