Two dolphins from Parc Astérix, Cessol and Guama, are already in Sweden

Two dolphins from Parc Astérix, Cessol and Guama, are already in Sweden
26.01.2021
Ile-de-France
Two dolphins from Parc Astérix, Cessol and Guama, are already in Sweden
Exploitation for shows

Such cynicism… When Parc Astérix reported on Sunday 24 January 2021 on the gradual transfer of the dolphins used in its dolphinarium, several of them – or even all? – had already left! Two arrived in Sweden on Saturday 23 January 2021. And not in a sanctuary.

Yesterday Norrköping Airport in Sweden published photos of a cargo plane transporting dolphins from France. Djurrättsalliansen, our Swedish partner in the Dolphinaria-Free Europe coalition, alerted us. We then found out how many there were, their ages and the reason for transferring them.

The dolphins concerned were Guama, born in the wild and captured in Cuba in 1987 when he was only five years old, and Cessol, the other male in Parc Astérix, born at Seaworld Orlando in 1984. Both are very old but they have been sent to Kolmårdens, a Swedish dolphinarium, which opened in 1969, for breeding. Where more than sixty dolphins have already died!

Amongst Guama’s offspring at Astérix are Bahia, born in 2015, and her sister Bélize, born two years later, and before them there were their big brother, Naska, born in 2010, and their half-brother, Ekinox, Femke’s son. The two young males were sold to Greece in 2016. Guama is also the father of Aïcko and Galéo, who were sent to Planète Sauvage. We are well aware of the tragedy that befell Aïcko.

That is why, when we were working in 2017 with the advisers of Ségolène Royal, then Minister of Ecology, we had asked for (and obtained!) a ban on breeding AND on exchanges of cetaceans between dolphinariums. For those who have turned captive animals into an industry, sensing the way the wind has been blowing since the announcements Barbara Pompili made at the end of September, it was unthinkable to allow these animals the opportunity to spend a few years of retirement living as dolphins should. The documents had been prepared as early as 25 November and 21 December 2020! Two months ago. That is why we are not giving up the fight against these animal parks.

Given their age, stress could easily have killed them: Guama, for whom freedom is such a distant memory, and Cessol, who will never have known freedom. We are extremely worried about Femke, who is already very fragile. Where has she been sent? Getting rid of such old dolphins by sending them away to breed shows total lack of respect.

Obviously at the moment there are no sanctuaries in Europe, but the Parc showed not the slightest willingness to go in that direction. Parc Astérix will have made a good profit from the dolphins without ever giving them anything in return or even considering it. When one thinks of the profits that the managers of the dolphinarium have made from them, they could at least have created somewhere for the dolphins to live out their lives in peace with being subject to any form of exploitation. The system continues, as does our fight.

« Jungle Park »: the face of a permanent circus

“Jungle Park”: the face of a permanent circus
26.01.2021
Gard
“Jungle Park”: the face of a permanent circus
Exploitation for shows

At a time when MPs are working on a bill to ban the exploitation of animals in circuses, we are warning against the fact that trainers will be allowed to settle down. This would mean keeping animals in conditions that are as dramatic as ever. Like Medrano’s “Jungle Park”.

What does a permanent circus look like? Take a look at the “Jungle Park” where Mina and Kamala are kept, and you’ll get the idea. After years of performing on the road or on stools, these 55-year-old elephants are now vegetating on the technical base of the Medrano circus in Aimargues (30). Thanks to our successive administrative appeals, we have obtained the suspension of the opening of the establishment to the public in September 2020. This is already a step forward, and proves that the DDSCPP and OFB inspection found irregularities. However, the owner has not been condemned: he has simply received a formal notice.

Mina and Kamala still suffering

In the meantime, our complaint is still ongoing for these elephants abandoned to their sad fate. That’s why we have just filed an addition to the complaint to the prosecutor at the Nîmes judicial court. Last December, our investigators managed to bring back new images of Mina, who was separated from Kamala at the time of the shooting. Left outside in temperatures ranging from 4 to 8°C, she struggled against the cold under an open marquee and continued to display stereotyped behaviors, eloquent symptoms of her mental distress.

Expertise

Dr. Schaftenaar, a veterinary surgeon and zoologist who viewed the videos, was also concerned about her physical condition. He noted “abnormal” movements in her left knee joint: “It seems that the patella does not move smoothly in the patellar trochlea of the femur. This problem needs to be confirmed by clinical examination by a qualified veterinarian”. He also observed “rhythmic muscular contractions […] at the junction between the body and the right front leg, and on the rest of the body”. Here again, the expert recommended a clinical examination, including blood analysis and hematology, as “this condition is known to occur in kidney disease”.

Tigers confined “a la Masson”

Mina and Kamala are not the only ones kept in conditions that contravene the derisory minimum legal standards. Tigers are also penned on top of each other in a cage truck, as at Mario Masson’s. Some of them stretch their paws through the bars, others have a dull look in their eyes. There’s no provision for them to kill time. It’s illegal and unbearable! We are asking for a protective seizure so that the elephants and tigers will be seized and put in a sanctuary. And we will fight in the same way for all the animals who will remain at the mercy of circuses, whether itinerant or sedentary.

Dumba, the elephant hidden by a circus in a rubbish dump in Gard

Dumba, the elephant hidden by a circus in a rubbish dump in Gard
18.01.2021
Gard
Dumba, the elephant hidden by a circus in a rubbish dump in Gard
Exploitation for shows

It was after 10 pm on 1 January 2021 when we heard: at the end of a dirt track in a remote corner of the Gard countryside a single elephant constantly rocks back and forth in a tent, in the middle of a rubbish dump – a few square metres to move around in. Immediately despatched to the spot, our investigators are shocked to discover that it has snowed, that the thermometer registers well below zero and that the elephant is shut in the trailer of the wagon opposite the tent. Dumba breathes heavily, sniffing the air with her trunk, which pokes out of a tiny half-open window in the roof. She has injuries on both sides of her head. We have submitted a complaint about her situation as a matter of urgency.

Dumba is over forty and her feet are so painful that she twists and turns even in front of strangers in an attempt to obtain relief. The forced immobility and solitude to which she is subjected daily cause muscle wasting, musculo-skeletal pain and stereotypic movements.

Just like other elephants held in captivity by circuses, she was snatched from her family while she was a baby. She has never been seen in the company of another elephant since. Just like Baby, she is kept in solitary confinement by her trainer and rented out to the highest bidder for videos and performances. Forced to have her photo taken with members of the public (which is illegal), in particular in the Cirque de Paris, she crossed paths with Jon, Patty, Marli, Céleste and Hannah before we obtained their release. We had hoped to find her in March 2020 when we followed the Cirque de Paris. On its usual site: Baby. She hadn’t been seen again in France since the end of 2018. In Spain, where we are working in solidarity on her behalf with FAADA (Fundación para el Asesoramiento y Acción en Defensa de los Animales – Foundation for Advice and Action in Defence of Animals), she had been off the radar since the end of September 2020.

But one of our sympathizers came across her while out for a New Year walk, in an area that literally looks like a rubbish dump.

France, this refuge for trainers prosecuted for mistreatment. Her trainer had fled Spain with her in order to avoid court proceedings. It would have been very easy for him to flee once again in order to hide Dumba elsewhere. It was therefore essential that we act speedily. Within a few hours we had despatched our investigators.

«Foot problems are the main cause of death in elephants. Dumba’s feet and her whole body are suffused with acute pain; she is the very incarnation of suffering. Elephants live in groups and continually communicate with one another in a very sophisticated way. They help and support one another until they die. Dumba is alone in her agony. What sort of advanced country is it that still authorizes the abysmal mistreatment of these vulnerable giants? I love elephants, I love my country, and I am ashamed.» Muriel Arnal, President and Founder of One Voice

The opinion of the expert on elephants to whom we sent the images was irrefutable: skeletal problems, possible tuberculosis … injuries. « The physical condition of this obviously elderly Asian elephant is very poor. »

«There are clear indications that this elephant is suffering from pain in her front legs, as shown by her alternating lifting of these legs and the fact that she brings her rear legs far cranial under her body.» Willem Schaftenaar, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine «The elephant keeps her mouth open for a much longer period than is expected and normal, which often is an expression of pain experience.»

«Keeping an elephant solitary for a prolonged period is an act against the welfare of the animal and as such illegal. When continued for several months and longer it inevitably changes the mental health permanently and irreversibly, expressed as stereotypic behaviour.»Willem Schaftenaar, DVM Retired zoo veterinarian of Rotterdam Zoo Current competences and activities: Veterinary Advisor to the European elephant TAG (EAZA), Associate researcher of Elephant Care International

We have submitted a complaint of ill-treatment and neglect by a professional (an offence) to the court in Alès. Added to that is illegally operating an establishment keeping non-domestic animals. The seizure of Dumba must be organized as quickly as possible; a place in a sanctuary already awaits her. Sign the petition and let us join together to appeal to the relevant minister, Barbara Pompili, because we shall never abandon those whose suffering is scandalously hidden from view: circus animals!

Translated from the French by Patricia Fairey

France, a refuge for circus trainers?

France, a refuge for circus trainers?
18.01.2021
France
France, a refuge for circus trainers?
Exploitation for shows

Our association has been fighting for animals for 25 years. Most of the time the suffering of those kept in circuses is denied. However the mistreatment starts at birth. Babies of all species are snatched from their mothers. They are then trained in order to break them and subject them to a life of violence and imprisonment. In the last 25 years most of our neighbours have prohibited these practices. France has become the country where trainers find refuge and can continue to torture animals of threatened species. Since the minister responsible, Barbara Pompili, made her announcements we have been waiting for the decree that will put an end to this exploitation, whether in travelling circuses or in those on a permanent site.

Fugitives who go into hiding in France with their victims

The latest salient example: Dumba, rediscovered on 1 January 2021 in a rubbish dump in the Gard countryside after months of no news about her. Last heard of in Spain in September 2020, she hadn’t been seen in France since the end of 2018. Her trainer regularly flees the Iberian peninsula with her to avoid court proceedings there. Likewise Mario Masson, the trainer of the tigers that we rescued from the wagon, had also fled justice in the Netherlands with Betty, the elephant that he had beaten in public. And as early as 2006 we had acted when the trainer Joy Gartner had arrived from Germany to hide Vicky, who was in agony and was to be seized because of the cruelty inflicted on her. She very nearly died but we were able to save her. But whose job should it be to monitor circuses and ensure that they comply with the law?

It’s a daily task for associations of concerned citizens

It is disconcerting how easy it is to make elephants disappear! Should it then be up to associations and their supporters to ensure that the law is upheld? To track animals held in captivity?

To return to the issue of Dumba’s trainer, it would be very easy for him to decamp: the trailer is already hooked up to the wagon. How long would it take him to dismantle the rickety tent used as a sort of shelter for the elephant?! It is simple: in this case we’re dealing with a fugitive from justice who comes to France in order to avoid serious charges and infringes many of the regulations relating to circuses. Where are the resources that the forces of order are entitled to expect? Above all, where is the political will? Associations such as ours step into the breach!

The end of travelling circuses… to the detriment of the animals

The announcements made by the Minister of Ecology, Barbara Pompili, about the end of travelling circuses with animals were vague. Since the end of September we have started to fear that new regulations will prohibit circuses from travelling but not the rest. And what a lot that covers!

Would the new law authorise circuses to continue to use violence as a training method and to keep circus animals in tiny spaces, year in year out, until they die, provided only that they no longer go on the road? Such measures would be very, very far from those taken by 23 of our European neighbours!

Dumba has already lost everything – her family, her freedom, her dignity, her mental and physical health. We shall never abandon her, nor other circus animals. Could the regulations be amended to abolish only the hell of travelling?! Absolutely not!

A new set of regulations covering circuses, at the cost of animals’ lives?

Feeling that this was the trend, we had challenged the Minister of the Interior about this question back in July 2020. For some had begun to invest in their technical base, such as Raoul Gibault, who renamed Médrano ‘Jungle Park’ and had already opened it to the public for the last few summers. But we managed to get the accreditation authorizing it to open withdrawn. Jungle Park is now closed. A new regulation would allow it to reopen easily. Mario Masson told whoever was willing to listen about his project for lodges amongst tigers, a project that will not see the light of day if the court confirms that the tigers should not be returned to him.

We must be held accountable for what we subject wild animals to. The trainers, our rulers and all of us. How many stolen lives? Deplorable living conditions? We must not wait for animals to die a slow death. There have been enough meetings and discussions. Let’s offer them a decent life now! Sign our petition to end the exploitation of animals in circuses, both permanent and travelling.

Rescue to the power of ten: Masson’s tigers are no longer in the wagon!

Rescue to the power of ten: Masson’s tigers are no longer in the wagon!
16.12.2020
Oise
Rescue to the power of ten: Masson’s tigers are no longer in the wagon!
Exploitation for shows

Wild tigers are disappearing from the face of the earth. Those in captivity experience a living hell. The ten tigers and tigresses confined in the wagon of the circus trainer Mario Masson had been driven mad by suffering so their case was urgent. As a result of the complaint that One Voice submitted almost a year ago following a long investigation, surveillance and infiltration, as our animal-protection association was able to offer them a life in a sanctuary the courts have decided to seize them. This shows that it is now possible to save all animals held in captivity in circuses.

A magnificent victory for these tigers trained by the circus

After months of uncertainty, this time it worked! The ‘10 tigers in 1 wagon‘, as we had called our campaign
to save them, has finally ended with them being seized! Since they were born and separated from their mothers they had known only the road, bars and the whip. On the 16 December 2020, after almost two years of investigation and indefatigable struggle, mainly behind the scenes, Tim, Leo, Tara, Yma, Oona, Dian, Rani, Ashley, Lily and Douglas (we’ve given new names to some of them) left the yard of the disused factory with its high brick walls where their trainer was hiding the wagon where they had been confined for years near Beauvais.

We organized everything: transport as an abnormal load, the places that awaited them with our partner refuge Tonga Terre d’Accueil for initial treatment but also individual dens in a sanctuary in Italy, where their journey will be over as soon as the court proceedings have ended. We are paying all the costs of looking after them. We shall need your support to do so. It’s a relief to know that they are now safe and well on the way towards the bright future that we have arranged for them.

Their living hell had lasted too long

Our investigation showed that in a year with the trainer Masson (already on the run from accusations in the Netherlands of ill-treating Betty, an elephant who has just died in suspicious circumstances) the ‘leisure park’ had never been set up. Neither before nor after the galas, as he calls them, (a circus festival here and there), nor in the Summer. But only to create an illusion in the newspapers on the day we finally published the images of the ordeal these big cats were suffering.

For the moment we must remain cautious about what to expect, but the ten survivors could be overweight or even obese because of a lack of exercise, have problems linked to inbreeding and have other health problems too.

In the wagon they were shut up with one another day after day whereas in the wild tigers are solitary creatures. Although they weigh almost 300 kg they had less than two square metres each and nothing to do. Imagine what that was like for them when in the wild they range alone over a territory of 200 square kilometres (77 square miles), when – as we know only too well at present – for humans, staying at home for weeks on end and having one’s liberties curtailed causes psychological suffering.

For animals life in a circus amounts to mistreatment

As Barbara Pompili mentioned during her long-awaited announcements on 29 September 2020, animals are kept in circuses despite captivity being incompatible with their welfare. Circuses are still not subject to any deadline: no clear plan to abolish them has been drawn up yet. However so many aspects of the regulations are infringed: non-existent paperwork, trafficking of cubs, identification by questionable microchipping, ill-treatment – with circuses there is plenty to choose from.

On Thursday 17 December, the day after this large-scale seizure, we took part in another meeting about these animals with the Ministry of Ecology. We have just established that it is now possible to rescue individual animals held captive in circuses!

We are trying to raise €150,000 to meet the initial cost of looking after Tim, Leo, Tara, Yma, Oona, Dian, Rani, Ashley, Lily and Douglas: for food, veterinary treatment and the construction of vast enclosures and dens in a sanctuary – durable enclosures, which in future will be able to welcome other animals saved from circuses. Take part!