At the Muller Circus, Jumbo is not the only animal being illegally abused
Since 1 December 2023, travelling circuses are no longer been permitted to acquire, sell or breed wild animals. However, at the Muller Zavatta Circus, two ostriches were purchased illegally in October 2025 to replace animals that had died. Despite official reports and damning administrative documents, no action has been taken. This is yet another example of the impunity still enjoyed by circuses that feature animals.
Two ostriches acquired in breach of the law
The documents we have obtained prove it: the two ostriches currently held by the Muller Zavatta Circus were acquired on 2 October 2025. These new animals, two males, were reportedly brought in to replace the circus’s previous ostriches who had died.
However, this purchase is illegal. Since 1 December 2023, the acquisition, sale and breeding of wild animals have been banned in travelling circuses. This ban was intended to pave the way for the phasing out of wild animals in circuses by 2028. Yet, despite several inspection reports, administrative documents and letters confirming in black and white the presence of these ostriches, nothing is being done. No action has been taken. To date, there has been no seizure, no penalty and no legal proceedings.
Breeding, acquisition: same battle
The acquisition of new animals is not the only problem. Since that same date, 1 December 2023, the breeding of wild animals in circuses has also been banned.
The Muller family, moreover, is no stranger to breaches of the law: no later than last summer, we exposed the presence of tiger cubs in cage lorries.
And the examples are stacking up. Last April, the Cirque Franco-Belge proudly displayed lion cubs. In 2024, our investigation into the Cirque Claudio Zavatta revealed similar findings.
The message this sends is disastrous: despite political announcements and promises of transition, certain establishments continue to buy and breed animals as if the 2028 deadline did not exist.
But what will become of all these animals in a few months’ time? Every birth, every new acquisition adds yet another animal to the number that will have to be taken in by already overcrowded sanctuaries.
Above all, these irresponsible practices demonstrate a determination to continue animal exploitation and the pursuit of profit to the very end.
A law rendered toothless by the government’s inaction
Nearly five years after the law of 30 November 2021 was passed, the implementing decrees setting out the penalties have still not been published.
The result: offences are identified, documented and known by the authorities… yet circuses continue to act with complete impunity. Worse still: the State stubbornly persists in supporting them and propping them up financially, preparing to distribute hundreds of thousands of euros of public money. The message is disastrous.
The two ostriches at the Muller Zavatta Circus are not merely an ‘administrative detail’: they symbolise the State’s current failure to enforce its own laws.
As the 2028 deadline approaches, circuses continue to flout the bans with complete impunity. And whilst the authorities dither, the animals continue to be mistreated, moved around and paraded like mere commodities. Jumbo is a glaring example of this. On behalf of him and his fellow sufferers, we have lodged a new request. For the sake of all those who are suffering, sign our petition and let’s put a stop to the exploitation of animals in circuses.
Stop using animals in circuses! Sign the petition
At the Muller Circus, Jumbo is not the only animal being illegally abused
Ostriches acquired and kept illegally: the Muller Circus’s persistent impunity.