Friday 3 October 2014

Tigers in Carcassonne



As I passed our local Tridome store ( a French DIY/ garden centre chain) I glimpsed the red and yellow candy striped tents of the circus that has come to town. The glamorous looking big top, and several matching colourful tents were pitched at the end of the car-park, next to a busy roundabout.

I visited the Milwaukee Circus parade many years ago, and loved the beautiful old circus wagons with their gaudy colours, so, drawn to the vibrant colours and painted wagons around the big top, I stopped to have a closer look.



 From the roundabout I could see posters advertising jugglers, acrobats, clowns, trapeze artists….then I saw something a little surprising. One of the wagons seemed to be advertising a hippopotamus. Surely I was mistaken. How could this be ?



Last year in Caunes, I had stumbled upon a camel and a llama seeming to graze on a roadside green verge . They had been part of the small circus visiting the town. I was surprised that there were still travelling circuses, with animals, but was told by locals that this was still common in France.

However….. a hippo…… Further investigation made everything clear.



The travelling circus would be in Carcassonne for a few days, and whilst not advertising itself as such, on its posters, involved many, many wild animals.



I passed close to the tiger’s wagon. ( I would estimate it measured 12 x 2 metres) As I approached, a man appeared and through a range of cages, positioned next to the wagon, opened a door, and 4 stunningly beautiful tigers emerged.



I told the man they were magnificent. He replied, “Merci.”……as if he thought I was congratulating him of having such fine beasts. J’etais epousteflant !  ( I was flabbergasted ! )



He was happy to let me stay and watch the tigers. He did not object when I took photos.





I really don’t know what to say, apart from wondering how this can be allowed, and wondering where the hell were all the protesters.



I became very self righteous and fell into “ How can the French allow this to continue” mode.

I fell into the trap of stereotyping a nation that still allow bull fights at their Spanish ferias, and found myself thinking “ This could never happen in Britain “

Returning home, I did some very quick and superficial google research and  discovered that although some countries have banned the use of wild animals in travelling circuses ( The Netherlands, and the UK ….but not until January 2015 in the UK ), most EU countries permit the use of wild animals in travelling circuses as long as they been registered, pronounced fit by a vet, and have an animal passport.



I wrongly assumed that in the UK, we don’t have performing animals anymore, but until the end of this year we do….. no lions, tigers and elephants, but there are still llamas, horses, camels, reindeer and zebras and apparently, snakes, performing in circuses in the UK. Performing horses will still be permitted, even when the new legislation comes into force in January 2015.

The only EU legislation covering the welfare of  circus animals  goes back to 2005, and requires the registration I mentioned.



So…the hippo….and those amazingly beautiful tigers , along with lions, and elephants, can be moved throughout Europe in 12x2 metre trucks, all beautifully painted, and then made to perform tricks, jumping through rings of fire and perching on boxes, rearing up at the command of a man holding a whip.


I remain epousteflanted and very very angry and very very sad.


19 comments:

  1. I share your sorrow and anger, Janice. Sadly this is the country where la chasse reigns supreme and every other man thinks he has an inalienable right to decimate the local wildlife. With that background, I'm saddened but not surprised that France still allows animals in travelling circuses. At least those tigers are in good condition, not like the mangy-looking animals I remember from my childhood. Small comfort, I know...

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    1. Its interesting that even on my photos you can see that actually these tigers were in excellent condition. I dont really know what you should look for in healthy animals....but their coats were thick and glossy, and although they hardly had any room to move around in, they were playing and moving around seemingly happy ! However, the thought of them having to perform...and then move around the country in that horrible waggon just filled me with horror. But..you are right, they looked to be in excellent condition to my untrained eye.

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  2. I'm with you all the way, Janice.

    Perhaps linking with your previous post the old Sam Cooke 'Change is Gonna Come' and Etta James 'At Last' could be our protest song. Although I think Perpetua is right to say that they are in good condition, albeit in very cramped surroundings.

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    1. yes Gaynor, as I've just said to Perpetua, they really did look healthy to me...but how sad. Presumably they were born in captivity, but there must be a better environment for them in a wild life park or zoo somewhere !

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  3. As you probably remember I love hippos, but in the right place preferably.
    Poor creatures being hauled all around France in trucks, but I have to admit that from your photos they do appear perfectly healthy.
    We have a summertime circus in the Cotswolds - Giffords - the only animals that you see are one horse that belongs to the owner, and which she rides around the ring once or twice and a goose that also waddles around the ring. Both of which live on their farm in the Cotswold hills for the other 9 months of the year.

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    1. They did look very healthy Rosemary, but I was really shocked by the tiny enclosure they had, and the travelling waggon was just horrible. The Giffords circus animals...horse and goose, sound as if they have quite a good life though !!!!

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  4. I share your anger and dismay Janice but you probably knew I would. No animal should ever be held captive. Why do humans think they have the right to use and abuse animals? The superior race? I don't think so. My heart aches every day when I read the stories and see the photos of yet more animals being abused. We are trying to get the dolphin tanks closed down in Turkey, as many others are in other parts of the world. And then we see that sex with animals is legal in Denmark!!! I could go on, but I'd never stop. Things have to change. People need to respect animals. They have a right to be on this earth and to live safely in the natural surroundings. :-(

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    1. I knew this would pull at your heartstrings too Ayak...how can it be ? It just seems impossible, and the nerve of the "keeper" thanking me for remarking on the magnificence of these stunningly beautiful animals.

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  5. As we drove out of Welshpool yesterday, we saw a circus tent by the big roundabout, with a poster advertising 'Lions and tigers'. I, too, was flabbergasted - I had thought that the legislation banning wild animals in circuses in the UK was already in place. Our forebears have much to answer for in the legacy of making animals perform for our 'amusement' - and in some countries they still have dancing bears (and we have illegal dog fights and badger baiting......no, don't go there!!!) :-(

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    1. I am shocked by this Helva, my reading of the UK legislation is that there are regulations about wild animals in place now....and that the animals registered to be allowed to work in UK circuses were limited to horses, camels ( why camels ????) llamas, birds, and snakes. Apart from horses, I undersatnd all animals will be protected in the UK from 1 January 2015.
      But, yes, dog fights and badger baiting....and culls......awful.

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  6. I didn't realise this was still happening, such a shame for these beautiful animals just for our so called amusement. About time all this was changed

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    1. Awful isn't it. I am just horrified that people still go to see performing animals.

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  7. I agree with you I also hate zoos, but if I remember rightly bull fights are allowed in France but the bulls are not killed.

    Annie v.

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    1. French bull fights involve playing a game with the bulls...taking rings or flags from their ears or horns....not sure how much enjoyment the French bulls get from this though ! However, there are still bull fights , to the death, held in France, when there is a Spanish festival in the town. Carcassonne banned them for a number of years, but they returned at the Feria last year.

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  8. Sad to say, at least as far as I know, they are still allowed here. I'm not a big fan of circuses, but, we do have a funny (or so it seems now) story about my grandmother having to be carried down from her seat by ushers in the '40s. It is tall tale I'll relate sometime. In spite of it all, you have taken some stunning photos.

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    1. I'm looking forward to hearing about your grandmother's adventure !
      Its strange, but all my memories of the Milwaukee circus parade are of the antique wagons...not of animals at all, but I think I may be suffering from a bit of selective memory syndrome, as I loved it so much !

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  9. It's amazing that they still have an audience. Until people stop paying to see them, they will carry on carting the poor animal around Europe. If people stop paying to see them, God know what will happen to them. Either way, it is criminal.

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  10. I find it so hard to believe that people will pay to see these things...who are these people ? I dont think I know any of them ! No one I have spoken to approves of this....but I presume there must be people who find it entertaining......god knows how !

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  11. Incroyable indeed! My jaw dropped open as I looked at your photos. I can remember being very proud of my father in the 1950s when we were on holiday in Spain and he refused to go to see a bullfight with the rest of the group. He wasn't bothered about being thought a softie!

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