“At the heart of felines” in the Tarn region: a ‘refuge’ that looks just like... a circus!
In early June, we were alerted to the opening of a new park in the Tarn region. On its Facebook page, the establishment “At the heart of felines” boasts about “raising awareness of respect for and conservation of wildlife”. Given the photos posted online – enclosures and stools strangely resembling circus equipment; tigers cubs inside a house, on a sofa, others bottle-fed instead of being with their mothers – we wanted to know more. Our investigation reveals a completely different reality, far removed from animal welfare and species conservation.
A refuge? With whips, screams and humiliating acts
We’re told of a project to build a refuge for circus felines on several hectares of land, while remaining very opaque about the source of funds: the construction will be carried out without collecting donations, without applying for subsidies, and without charging for visits. One wonders how and when the project will see the light of day.
In the meantime, Maya, Thor and Malish, the two tigers and the trainer’s lion, are still locked in a tiny enclosure with a truck for shelter. For the audience’s amusement, they are threatened with sticks and made to climb on stools, walk on two legs and jump over each other. It’s all very natural behavior… in a circus tent.
Like Jungle Park (now closed) and Parc-Saint-Léger, “At the heart of felines” is a settled circus. The animals are trained and caged, and are expected to perform no matter what happens to them.
When the state distorts the spirit of the law to the detriment of animals
This is one of the many false pretenses of the November 30, 2021 law. Banning the keeping of wild species in traveling circuses by 2028, while allowing these same circuses to settle down and continue exploiting these animals in exactly the same cruel and senseless way today. Worse still, our leaders encourage this practice: in the summer of 2023, a ministerial decree created an equivalence between circus and zoo certificates of competence, even though the regulatory standards for zoos are different. Once again, circus performers get a special favor, in violation of the law. When will the government stop adapting the law to its whims?
The State has a duty to help the lions, tigers, elephants, hippos, etc. held in circuses by demanding their placement in sanctuaries and funding the construction of such places. They announced it, but were they lying? It’s outrageous to let animals from endangered species, whose suffering due to training and captivity is the subject of a worldwide consensus, languish on the pretext that cage trucks remain parked in the same place.