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France goes ape over club’s ‘zoo night’ with caged tigers

A nightclub in northern France has come under fire after teaming up with a circus to promise a "zoo night" for party goers this Saturday featuring caged tigers and panthers.

Published: 19 April 2016 09:33 CEST

France goes ape over club's 'zoo night' with caged tigers

Photo: Jim Mullhaupt/Flickr

Nightclub L'Alegra in the town of Chalons-en-Champagne in the département of Marne in northern France has promised “an extraordinary evening” together with the star cast of My Amazing Circus.

Yes, for as little as €6, clubbers can share their nightclub experience with a tiger, panther, puma, monkey, snakes and “sexy gogo dancers”, boasts the event's Facebook page.

But the club, which offers “ten different rooms with ten different moods” as well as wildlife, apparently, has come under fire for the event.

Indeed, animal rights activists are fuming, and have urged supporters to contact the local mayor in an effort to get the event canned.

“We're against this because it's nothing but a circus show in a nightclub,” head of Les Félins group, Cyril Leduc, told Metronews.

He added that endangered species such as tigers and pumas “have no place in a night club show”.

Other animal groups have spoken out too, with Code Animal pointing out that there are rules specifically in place to prevent such shows.

“Any animal in a sentient state should be put in conditions that are compatible with the biological needs of their species,” says article L214-1, reported the paper.

A group against Saturday's show has meanwhile gained over 3,000 members on Facebook.

“Respect the dignity of animals,” the page reads. “No to wild animals in a nightclub.”

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Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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