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Comparative Analysis of Selected Species
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There are two giraffes currently featured in France. Their performances usually consist of parading around the ring.
Giraffes are gregarious ungulates that live in groups of various sizes covering vast territories.
Roméo, Roger Lanzac circus |
Giraffes currently in French circuses are being held in isolation in very small spaces, often restricted to the inside of a truck's container.
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Their large size makes transportation particularly difficult: "[This animal] is at risk of 'splitting' during transport." (22) Following an accident on Highway A41 in 1999, the Arlette Grüss Circus' giraffe died from cardiac arrest.
| "Because of its specific anatomical structure and considerable space requirements, this species is totally unsuitable for frequent transport. Therefore, it is completely unacceptable to keep giraffes in circuses."(23)
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Angie, a Masai giraffe in the Achille Zavatta Fils Circus |
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In circuses, these animals usually parade around the ring, or, like the one pictured at left, are ridden by circus performers.
One of the Muller circus' numbers consists of showing the animal in his cage-trailer (which is prohibited).
Pompom, a
hippopotamus in the Grand Cirque Royal |
Hippopotamuses are semi-aquatic animals :
The body of the hippopotamus is adapted for an amphibian lifestyle: it features palmate toes on its four feet and a large flattened head that helps keep its eyes, ears, and nostrils above the water. However, the only body of water available in their travel wagons is a basin at the bottom of a truck.
 
Tonga, a hippopotamus - Luigi Zavatta
Hippopotamuses need space :
Hippopotamuses go on land and travel to pastures sometimes over 10 km away from shore, especially at night. They spend most of the day in standing water. In circuses, their space is restricted to a few square meters in a trailer or a small container in front of a truck. At night these animals are restrained and left unable to move.
 
Hannibal - Fabio Zavatta Circus Aldo - Cirque de Venise
A gregarious species :
Led by a dominant male, hippopotamuses live in groups of 10 to 100 animals. The half-dozen hippopotamuses held in French circuses are kept alone.
 
Anthony Zavatta Circus Muller Circus .
"Hippopotamuses are animals well-adapted to life in and around the water, which they must be able to access at all times. The body of water provided to hippopotamuses must be deep enough to enable them to completely immerse themselves. Keeping them in too-small or too-shallow basins will result in joint injuries. The conditions mentioned previously can only be guaranteed in non-mobile permanent enclosures.
In addition, hippopotamuses are gregarious animals that live in groups, as previously described.
This is why keeping hippopotamuses in circuses is completely unacceptable!"(24) |
Hippopotamus tales
Thanks to the efforts of Fondation Assistance aux Animaux and funding from animal protection foundations, Aldo and Tonga--two hippopotamuses illegally held in the Cirque de Venise and Luigi Zavatta circuses--were seized and released in 2007 in South Africa's SanWild sanctuary, an environment much better suited to their basic needs..
 
Aldo in Cirque de Venise Aldo & Tonga at the SanWild sanctuary
In January 2004, in dire need of water, Mowgli--the hippopotamus from the former Pacific Circus--took an impromptu bath in the Escarpe (Pas de Calais). To our knowledge, this was the third time a hippopotamus made an escape. |
Currently, there are about 25 elephants (half of which are African elephants) in French circuses.
Elephants are gregarious animals :
Eléphants Tanzanie / Ph. De Almeida |
Pachyderms enjoy a very organized social life. Herds travel in groups of several dozen members and are usually structured around a matriarch.
This highly gregarious life leads the animals to communicate with each other primarily through touch and smell. |
In circus settings, elephants do not have the opportunity to recreate this social life, since they are kept alone, either chained to the ground or inside a truck.
Elephants held alone:
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| Maya (Achille Zavatta fils circus) |
Samba (Europe International circus) |
Indra (Stéphane Zavatta circus) |
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- Beybi (Bauer)
- (Kinos circus)
- Syndha ( Alexis Grüss circus)
- Betty (Maximum) |
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Kenya (A.Zavatta fils circus) |
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Elephants are nomadic :
These animals live in vast territories that can cover up to 1,500 km 2 . Their anatomy is particularly suited to a nomadic lifestyle and they travel an average of 17 km per day.
Their daily outings in the ring are not adequate to meet these giants' movement needs.
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They are often tied up and completely immobilized. Elephants engage in "weaving" (stereotypical behaviors) to make up for their lack of movement, since, as biologist Henri Laborit observed, "the nervous system is built for action."(25)
[Attaches = Shackles]
Médrano circus
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Three elephants from the A. Fratellini Circus exhibiting significant behavioral problems
The European Association of Zoo and Aquaria (EAZA) recommends 400 m 2 for every three elephants in addition to the enclosed space. This recommended space, which falls far short of the reality in circuses, is still 60 to 100 times too small, according to experts in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford.(26)
Grooming and recreation :
Whether in Africa or Asia, elephants are in contact with water as often as possible. They drink it often and in copious amounts (about 80 to 160 liters per day). Water also plays an important role in their social lives and their grooming. They may bathe for over two hours every day. In addition, mud and dust baths protect them from parasites and also provide an effective shield against the sun.
In traveling settings, a common saying is that "an elephant that drinks is an elephant that pisses." Circus workers do not want to take the chance of having the ring soaked and therefore the animals are given water only very early in the morning and late in the evening after the last show. There is no access to baths. This component of their social and physiological well-being is completely ignored.
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Amar circus |
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The Kenya Affair
Already convicted for operating illegally since 1992, the A. Zavatta Fils Circus is still holding Kenya, a female African elephant captured from her natural environment. Following a new conviction by Tribunal correctionnel de Troyes in July 2007, Fondation Assistance aux Animaux worked jointly with over 40 Ain police officers to organize the elephant's seizure. |
Despite being sentenced to six months of imprisonment, the director refused to surrender the animal to the authorities and deliberately organized a disturbance of the peace by releasing the elephant right in the middle of a traffic circle.
| Since no one was able to put Kenya in the truck, and to prevent accidents, the mayor ordered that the elephant return to the circus, in full violation of the law. |
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Syndha, old friend...
The elephant Syndha, an old friend ( vieille amie(27) of the family, should remind us of the tragic story of animals in circuses. This elephant carries within her the trauma of all other "circus animals." She arrived at the Alexis Grüss Circus in 1983. Like all other captive circus elephants, she was taken away from her natural environment. She was also deprived of any contact with her brethren and given a mere semblance of freedom. In December 1999, locked up alone, Syndha was profoundly affected by a storm that had broken over Paris. Unable to escape, she was powerless to react to the force of the wind rushing through the circus tent. After that, Syndha became unpredictable and eventually caused the death of floor director Claude Santelli in September 2001. Her behavior problems worsened. |
(22) BORMANN, Rex, Cirque Magazine . October 2006.
(23) SCHWAMMER, Harald, PECHLANER, Helmut, GSANDTER, Hermann, and BUCHL-KRAMMERSTATTER, Dr. Guidelines for keeping of wild animals in circuses . Vienna 1996.
(24) SCHWAMMER, Harald, PECHLANER, Helmut, GSANDTER, Hermann, and BUCHL-KRAMMERSTATTER, Dr. Guidelines for keeping of wild animals in circuses . Vienna 1996.
(25) LABORIT, Henri. The Major Mechanism of Stress, Methods and Achievements in Experimental Pathology . Basel, Karger, 1991.
(26) CLUBB, Ros, and MASON, Georgia. A Review of the Welfare of Zoo Elephants in Europe . University of Oxford/RSCPA, 2002.
(27) COSTAZ, Gilles. Excerpt from "Les peintures équestres de Grüss," echoes of 05/01/2006.
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