A circus elephant becomes a victim on Spanish roads

We know these elephants. Since Vicky’s complicated rescue in 2006, we have continued to monitor them. They had gone to France, trapped inside trailers, for many miles. They were 5, now they are only 4. The car accident that cost the life of one of them yesterday on April the 2nd is another issue that raises the urgency for the ban on elephants in circuses. The current revision of the decree concerning the keeping of wild animals must take this into account!

In retrospect a scandal

In January 2005, a trainer is sentenced in Germany for acts of cruelty on his four elephants: Vicky, Diana, Pira and Belinda. The night before the seizure, and their placement in a sanctuary, they disappeared. Alerted by our German partners, we begin a long chase. It is in France where we will eventually find them several months later, with another trainer, Mr. G. This man already owns two elephants Indra and also Sabine, who caused the death of a man in Sweden. He does not hold CITES papers for these new elephants, which are essential for their custody. We immediately asked the Ministry of Ecology to intervene. In the meanwhile, Vicky disappears. The investigators of One Voice will eventually find her locked in a trailer … Her health situation is dramatic; her trunk is paralyzed because of the blows she has received from her trainer! We managed to save her and transfer her to a sanctuary (Vicky’s rescue in details and pictures). But for her three friends, including Diana her close friend, the Ministry decided against all odds to regularize the papers. It makes the choice to regularize an infringement supporting a protected species, violate the commitment of France and confirming the lack of importance that the State attaches to the objectives of protecting endangered animals and to the individuals themselves.

An ever-present situation

Mr. G. does not hesitate in filing a complaint against us, claiming 80000 euros in damages. He will not succeed, but now avoids performing in France. It must still pass through our country to arrive where legislation is (still) more lax, especially in North Africa… He separated Sabine, who again caused the death of a man in the South of France….the accident was ignored because the victim was a Circassian… Then in 2017, he temporarily exploited Sabbah, after the death of her companion, Delhi, at the circus Pinder. Last December, we asked the Marseille prefecture on which these two elephants depend, to give us the information about them. Without response, we then challenged the authorities.

Who is dead?

Who lost their life Monday in Spain? Diana? Pira? Belinda? One of the two newly arrived elephants? Which one is hurt? We do not know this as yet. What we are certain of, however, is that since 2006, Vicky has lived a sweet and happy life. Twelve years, during which time her friends should have also tasted a sweet and happy life. They too should have lived a life as an elephant, free from roads and trucks. The scandalous decision of the then Ministry allowed the trainer to continue exploiting these old elephants. The current revision of the Wildlife Detention Order must absolutely prevent this from happening again. It is necessary that Nicolas Hulot prohibits the use of elephants in circuses! Their place is not in trucks and on the roads.

We are angry and more determined than ever. Freedom and respect for elephants!

Picture : Vicky, Diana, Pira, Belinda, Sabine and Indra in 2006.