We owe Lechmee a well-deserved respite!

According to what is written in the "circus" decree of 18^thMarch 2011, Lechmee should have been for a long time now staying in a permanent place, with her companions, with access to quality care, and a relaxing daily life! Nothing has been done for her other that the life imposed by the circus. The incessant journeys, the noise, belts from the ankus, the chains...

Yet she is still on the road, despite her advanced age, her disabled leg and blindness. It's a scandal, nothing has been done to give her a respite! The circus shows no sign of clemency, as for the ministry and the authorities, they seem deaf to her obvious suffering.

After the death of Diana on the roads of Spain in early April 2018, we wrote to the Minister of the Ecological and Solidarity Transition, when we discovered that the three old elephants were forced to parade in the streets, and therefore still on tour. No response from him since then.

On the justice side, our complaint of ill-treatment was filed several months ago, and we are expanding our case by launching an expert summary procedure before the judicial court, directed against the circus. Previously, we had launched unpublished procedures, which had been rejected.

In May, two videos shocked us. Mina was hit in the face by one of her keepers, and Kamala received an electric shock from another keeper. We immediately alerted the public and launched a specific petition for them.

At the beginning of June, we saw Lechmee in a tiny enclosure, barely 20 m² in a quaint city square. We alerted the mayor of the city, and the newspapers were able to denounce with us the cynicism of the circus. The latter made "looking into" the next day by a bailiff, the size of the enclosure after having moved the barriers, to justify suitably the minimum regulatory surface, with a pen of 380 square meters. But their ploy fooled no one! MP Loïc Dombreval was moved by this scandalous manipulation, and made contact with Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, to reinforce our request to refuse henceforth the circuses with animals in his community. 

While waiting for our complaint to be investigated and for the new appeals that we are currently preparing, please continue to sign and share our petition along with the story of Lechmee. The mobilization of all is vital for this old lady elephant and her friends, also martyrs of this industry.