"You have probably noticed that during shows, the elephant trainers are holding a leather crop decorated with a flower at the tip. The trainer approaches the animal, gestures gracefully with his hand, and the elephant--as though obeying the flower--goes docilely to the spot indicated. But none of the spectators know that the beautiful rose actually hides a steel hook that would be thrust into the elephant's ear at the smallest sign of disobedience. It is like this in circuses around the world. 14 " (Vladimir Deriabkine, Trainer)

Exclusive testimony by Jacques Danglès, a former French trainer in the biggest circuses

"At night when we passed by this truck, the chimpanzees were screaming inside. I had the tactlessness to look and saw that he had put rings in the truck and was chaining them and striking them in the face. One day I said to him, 'You're crazy! But you have to do that with chimpanzees; otherwise they'll get the upper hand.'

"When I was with Grüss it was the same thing. They had a little elephant they would beat. When you see those guys in the ring, smiling from ear to ear, you think, wow, they're brave. You have to see what goes on behind the scenes, even with the horses. He had a horse, a fantastic horse! Behind the curtains, he hit this horse on the knee to make it kneel, and right after that they went into the ring. When you see that behind the scenes you think it can't be true; the show is awful!

"When you know how they're transported... You arrive at a public square in the middle of the night; they're shut up inside these prisons. In the morning at feeding time, you open the cage and throw it in. Like for the chimpanzees, a cabbage leaf, a carrot. They're out in the cold...

"If I had any authority in the circuses, there would be no more wild animals. Domestic animals, maybe, and even then how they were treated would be monitored."

Without restraint, animals cannot be made to do things against their nature. The presence of the large cats in the central cage poses a variety of problems and is a source of additional stress for the animals:

Central cage - Diana Moreno Bormann Circus

"For 2002 I'm preparing an act like none other in the world with 10 lions and 8 tigers. It's not that easy because they don't always get along very well naturally. And some of them are quite a headache. I'll need four more months of work." (Frédéric

Edestein - Pinder Circus, 2001)

08/10/05 - Rennes - Another incident at Pinder Circus

According to circus elephant specialist A. Kuntze, a seated position, for example, can lead to "a serious condition and possibly death if prolapsed organs (intestines, bladder, uterus) become constricted and necrose. (20) " Many disorders are diagnosed after elephants are forced into unnatural behaviors that require constant pressure on or overexertion of part of the body.

Death of the elephant Tatcha, a symptomatic example

Captured in Africa in the 1980s, the elephant Tatcha of Maximum Circus died in 2006 at age 23 (the average life expectancy of an elephant is 60 years).

Heart problems are the primary cause of mortality in adult elephants in captivity. The elephant Wurza of Arlette Grüss Circus suffered from heart failure in November 2003 at the age of only 25. These premature deaths are the result of an excessively rich diet, lack of exercise, and stress.

An RSPCA study also shows that many elephants in captivity have vitamin and mineral deficiencies (vitamin E, zinc, iron, etc.).