Circus of horrors
Rescuers find appalling animal cruelty as they race to free big cats Springwatch’s Chris calls for ban on using wild creatures in shows
GOVANI the lion had a miserable existence, living in a circus where he was kept in a rusty two-by-twometre square cage.
His claws were ripped out, his two large canine teeth had been removed and he became so distressed in the end that he bit off his own tail.
He was put through this agony for one reason – so he could perform every night for the delight of big-top audiences.
More than 1,000 animals are currently forced to perform in circuses across Europe, many in appalling conditions.
Each night, emaciated lions and tigers are locked up in filthy, cramped cages, living in horrifying squalor.
They are trained using methods bordering on torture so they will jump through flaming hoops or leap from podium to podium.
When the magnificent big cats are no longer fit enough to perform, or their appearance becomes too ragged, they are locked away and fed the bare minimum by owners who no longer have any use for them.
After all the hardship he faced, Govani became one of the lucky ones. In February, after months of negotiation, he was rescued from Circo Francia in Spain by AAP Primadomus.
The organisation, which quarantines and rehabilitates circus animals, also removed a second lion called Silas and a tiger named Keni.
David van Gennep, director of AAP, who helped with the rescue, says: “We found Govani to be skinny, with wounds everywhere. He was so emaciated that his bones almost stuck through his skin. And his ankle wound was so rotten, I looked straight at the joint. Govani was about to perish.”
Just three months later, the lion is beginning to recover. He is living in a large outdoor enclosure with trees and a swimming hole, and has access to an indoor area with a glass panel so keepers can see him.
“When I looked at him, sitting in front of the window, he slowly walked towards
This is desperate. Many animals do not survive even if they get out. These are the lucky ones CHRIS PACKHAM ON VISIT TO RESCUE CENTRE IN SPAIN
me,” David recalls. “He sat near me, his head touching the glass. It is unimaginable that he is still looking for a relationship with man, after all that has been done to him. “We will do everything we can to help him. How beautiful it would be if Govani could soon be a strong, powerful lion again. A real king of animals.” I’m at AAP Primadomus with Springwatch presenter Chris Packham and his partner Charlotte Corney, the founder of the Wild Heart Trust at the Isle of Wight Zoo. We are here to learn about the vital work the centre does to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. Pablo Delgado, team leader of the big cat department at AAP, shows us a tiger which has been
rescued from elsewhere, who begins pawing playfully at Chris through the fence. He points and explains: “This tiger has something wrong with her paws. It is likely they have been burnt on a hot plate.
“Circuses sometimes train the tigers to step backwards and forwards by using hot plates, so the animals will learn not to do it again if it hurts.”
Chris and Charlotte, who have been together for 11 years, are visibly upset when they hear of the conditions the animals suffer in circuses.
Chris, 57, says: “This is desperate. Why is this still happening? Because we still have circuses in Europe with wild animals. Many circus animals do not survive even if they have been rescued – these are the lucky ones that do eventually get out.”
Located in the hills of Villena, near Alicante, AAP’s large enclosures help its lions, tigers, leopards and lynxes, as well as primates, to recover. The centre is slowly working with circuses continent-wide to free abused animals.
Its bosses prefer to negotiate rather than use expensive legal action which could ultimately lead to the animals being quietly destroyed. So Circo Francia was not prosecuted because it agreed to give Govani, Silas and Keni to the rescue centre.
Scotland last year passed legislation to ban wild animals in circuses and over half of local authorities in the UK already refuse to allow them to put on shows in their area. But so far they are not banned in England and Wales.
In Spain the law could change soon. Pablo says: “Travelling circuses make it impossible to ensure the welfare of the animals. We just need them to be banned. The good thing is that more and more people are feeling like it is from the past, that it isn’t normal.”
Find out more about AAP’s work at www.aap.nl/es
USING wild animals in circuses should have been banned years ago.
It is as abhorrent, cruel and outdated as bear baiting or cock-fighting.
But as we report today there are more than 1,000 animals still being exploited in travelling circuses across Europe.
Lions and tigers are kept in squalid, cramped and filthy cages. It is shameful these big cats are still being paraded around the circus ring in the name of entertainment.
Thanks to the work of bodies such as AAP and Chris Packham’s Wild Heart Trust, some have been saved. Yet there is only so much charities can do. Governments must also act.
Scotland has outlawed the practice and it is hoped England and Wales will soon follow suit.
It is time other European countries moved to end this cruelty.
You can have the thrill of the big top without subjecting animals to suffering and torture.