Circus Muller: Jumbo’s unspeakable suffering, an organised impunity
Since the end of 2025, we have stepped up our efforts on behalf of Jumbo, whose pain has reached an intensity that specialist vets have never observed in their careers. We follow the Muller family’s rogue circus wherever it goes, week after week. At every new location, the same damning reality: violations, suffering animals, and an unwavering sense of impunity. How long will this go on?
Jumbo, a living symbol of blatant and ongoing abuse
At every stop along the Circus Muller’s route, the breaches are there, right before our eyes. The situation remains the same: for nearly forty years, Jumbo, who needs to spend sixteen hours a day submerged in warm water, has been confined to a metal trailer. His joints bear the weight of a three-tonne animal that should weigh only two. Jumbo is suffering, as was confirmed a few weeks ago by a veterinary expert.
A victim of pain with every movement, he is presented to the public without any safety measures, by a person who does not even hold a certificate of competence.
These are not administrative details. These are serious facts. These are breaches of the law, of public safety and, above all, of the welfare of captive animals condemned to suffer day after day. Jumbo, in particular, embodies this institutionalised mistreatment: a wild animal condemned to the tarmac, to solitude, to noise.
Convictions, and yet impunity
The Muller family, who are setting up illegal installations everywhere they go, are no strangers to legal disputes.
Alexandre Muller has already been convicted on multiple occasions for contempt of court, death threats and violence against public officials, resisting arrest and obstructing traffic. Edmond Muller, for his part, has been convicted of physical and psychological abuse committed against animal rights activists who were demonstrating peacefully and lawfully.
But above all, both were convicted in 2020 by the Criminal Court in Valence for “unlawful operation of an establishment housing non-domestic animals; placing or keeping an animal in an environment causing suffering; and using an unsuitable method of confinement likely to cause suffering or injury.”
These facts directly concern the living conditions imposed on Jumbo in the circus. The height of it all? The seizure of the hippopotamus had been ordered prior to the hearing. It failed in the face of violence from the circus staff. And the State, the courts, gave in. Even after the conviction of his captors, Jumbo was left in their care.
The authorities’ silence: what exactly are they protecting?
We know that the circus was inspected by the Lot-et-Garonne prefectural authorities in February. This region is a sanctuary for so many lawless circuses, where so many wild animals languish in trailers, because the authorities are turning a blind eye. For days now, we have been asking for access to the inspection report. We are met with silence. Why refuse to release a report if ‘everything is in order’, as we were told? What does it contain? Why this refusal to be transparent? Who is protecting the Muller family? For what reasons?
When offences are identified, when convictions exist, when animal suffering is so cruelly evident, administrative silence becomes a moral failing.
On behalf of Jumbo and his fellow sufferers, we have lodged a new request.
We refuse to allow fear or complacency to permit a family, convicted on multiple occasions, to continue, generation after generation, the exploitation and torture of captive animals.
Jumbo is neither a number nor an attraction. If he dies in the trailer after enduring continuous pain so intense it is impossible to describe, those responsible will be held to account. We will secure justice for him. But there is still time to get him out of there. Sign our petition.
For Jumbo to be placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition
Circus Muller: Jumbo’s unspeakable suffering, an organised impunity
The Muller family: convictions, offences, complicity of the authorities. How much longer must Jumbo suffer?
Des condamnations, et pourtant l’impunité
La famille Muller, qui multiplie les installations illégales partout où elle passe, n’en est pas à son premier contentieux judiciaire.
Alexandre Muller a déjà été condamné à de multiples reprises pour outrage, menaces de mort et violences sur agents dépositaires de l’autorité publique, rébellion et entrave à la circulation. Edmond Muller a pour sa part été condamné pour violences physiques et morales commises sur des défenseurs des animaux qui manifestaient pacifiquement et légalement.
Mais surtout, tous deux ont été condamnés par le tribunal correctionnel de Valence en 2020 pour « exploitation irrégulière d’un établissement détenant des animaux non domestiques ; placement ou maintien d’un animal dans un environnement cause de souffrance ; utilisation d’un mode de détention inadapté pouvant être cause de souffrance ou de blessure. »
Ces faits concernent directement les conditions de vie imposées à Jumbo dans le cirque. Le comble ? La saisie de l’hippopotame avait été ordonnée avant l’audience. Elle a échoué face à la violence des circassiens. Et l’État, la justice ont plié. Même après la condamnation de ses geôliers, Jumbo leur a été laissé.
Le silence des autorités : que protège-t-on exactement ?
Nous savons que le cirque a été contrôlé par les services préfectoraux du Lot-et-Garonne courant février. Ce département sanctuaire pour tant de cirques hors-la-loi, où tant de fauves croupissent dans des remorques parce que les autorités ferment les yeux. Depuis des jours, nous demandons l’accès au rapport d’inspection. Nous nous heurtons au silence. Pourquoi refuser de transmettre un rapport si « tout est conforme », comme cela nous a été indiqué ? Que contient-il ? Pourquoi ce refus de transparence ? Qui protège la famille Muller ? Pour quelles raisons ?
Lorsque des infractions sont constatées, lorsque des condamnations existent, lorsque la souffrance animale est aussi cruellement visible, le silence administratif devient une faute morale.
Pour Jumbo et ses compagnons de misère, nous avons déposé une nouvelle plainte.
Nous refusons que la peur ou la complaisance permettent à une famille condamnée à de multiples reprises de poursuivre, génération après génération, l’exploitation et la torture d’animaux captifs.
Jumbo n’est ni un numéro une attraction. S’il meurt dans la remorque, après avoir enduré des douleurs continues et impossibles à décrire tant elles sont intenses, les responsables devront en répondre. Nous obtiendrons justice pour lui. Mais il est encore temps de le sortir de là. Signez notre pétition.