A “circus system” in which human beings and animals are mistreated in the exact same way, exploited in conditions of detention that has no limits, abused, whipped, slapped, in a scenario that is far from the story of the happy, courageous and jovial “circus family”.
This is, indeed, the picture that LAV and the Franz Weber Foundation found themselves faced with when they anonymously received the images recorded during the shows and behind the scenes in 4 months of infiltration in the Medini Circus, between January and May 2026.
From there, LAV and the Franz Weber Foundation wanted to show what they called the “circus system”: 19 monitored circuses, filmed before, during and after the live shows and which confirmed abuse and violence.
Two different situations – the Medini in which an anonymous infiltrator showed the true face of one of the most famous circuses in Italy, and the 19 circuses with animals currently active on Italian territory filmed during the show activities.
Faced with these images, no one will be able to say that the circus is a cultural spectacle – declare LAV and the Franz Weber Foundation. For years as LAV we have been asking the Government to put an end to all this, but no Minister and no Government has yet had the courage to say “No more animals in circuses”. Today we once again ask Minister Giuli and Undersecretary of Culture Cannella to finally sign the implementation of the enabling law on entertainment, postponed several times, with a stop to the use of animals in circuses, as already done by over 50 countries around the world. Only in this way will it be possible to truly relaunch a sector that has been in crisis for years, with animal-free artistic exhibitions already being so successful.
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The previous complaint
The Medini circus had already been reported in April 2025 by LAV for mistreatment of animals, after some images had shown poor management of the animals and the space intended for them.
The new footage – taken during the Piedmontese stages of the circus – adds further elements. In the videos we see episodes of physical violence accompanied by insults and words of contempt, while the animals appear forced to obey through intimidation and punishment.
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The presence of children is also striking. Not only spectators of these scenes, but, in several cases, protagonists of behaviors that seem to replicate those of adults: sticks held against animals, abrupt gestures, aggressive words. A mechanism that risks transforming violence into normality, transmitted almost as if it were part of the apprenticeship of circus life.
The images also raise questions about the involvement of minors in circus activities. According to what has been documented, three children as young as eleven take part in the daily activities and shows. Even more significant is the testimony of a nine-year-old boy, who tells the cameras how his father prevents him from performing only when he fears checks, while in some squares – the little boy claims – he could work because “they are friends of my dad”.
But it’s not just animals that experience difficult conditions. The footage also tells the hidden face of work in the circus: people who declare they do not have a regular contract, forced to work in conditions which, according to LAV, could violate the most basic safety regulations. A situation which, if confirmed, would also concern the public: from some statements collected, the absence of fire extinguishers emerges and video documentation shows water infiltrations near electrical cables, with the consequent risk of short circuits.
The environmental impact also comes under the scrutiny. The images show manure left for weeks on the land and organic residues which, according to what some workers reported, would be dumped directly into the fields. A practice which, if ascertained, would conflict with the legislation, which requires the disposal of this waste through authorized companies.
@LAV
For LAV, the Medini case does not represent an isolated episode. «When we received and viewed these anonymous images we decided, together with the Franz Weber Foundation, to check what was happening in the other circuses too. What we found proved us right: Medini is not a bad apple, but one of the many circuses that continue to use and mistreat animals, says president Gianluca Felicetti.
For weeks, investigators from the two associations followed 19 traveling circuses in nine Italian regions. The picture that now emerges is made up of animals confined in spaces incompatible with their ethological needs, stereotyped movements caused by stress, transfers managed with violence and numbers that force the animals to behave in ways that are far removed from their nature.
@LAV
Because what the public sees under the tent lasts a few minutes. Everything else, what happens before and after the show, almost always remains hidden from the eyes of those who buy a ticket. And it is precisely there, the associations maintain, that the most difficult part to watch takes place.
It is time to take a definitive step, the associations are now saying, who are asking for the law to be implemented with a total ban on the use of animals in circuses.
To put an end to all this, an institutional decision is necessary: the responsibility for the decisions lies in the hands of Minister Giuli and the Undersecretary for Culture Cannella. May they finally fully implement Delegation Law 106/2022 which expires on December 31st. Also because we know that the Medini circus is not an exception, just as the Martin Circus was not, definitively condemned in 2024 for mistreatment and from which all the animals were seized in 2014, entrusted to LAV in order to guarantee their rights, dignity and a fair pension safe from violence, concludes Felicetti.
