The Regional Court in Rybnik has legally sentenced the circus owners Kateryna S and Sebastian S. They were sentenced to one year of suspended imprisonment and must pay a fine (PLN 8,000). The reasons for the verdict include animal abuse. It is the first time in Poland that a verdict has been passed against the abuse of circus animals.
A Baloo bear, a crocodile and three turtles have been taken from their owners due to improper treatment of animals by Circus Vegas in 2016.
Po 6 latach prawomocny wyrok w sprawie niedźwiedzia Baloo, żółwi i krokodyla odebranych z cyrkuhttps://t.co/Snz8bcoZjI#ecopoznan #poznań #rybnik #zoo #cyrk #zwierzęta #ochronazwierząt #fundacjaviva #zoopoznan #wyrok pic.twitter.com/XjYd1s2nkt
— Eco Poznań (@EcoPoznan) June 2, 2022
The case has started in 2016 and thanks to the International Movement for Animals Viva! Foundation, it is finally resolved with the following outcome:
The defendants received a court ban on circus activities involving animals. In addition, Sebastian S. was banned from practising as an animal trainer. The argument pointed out that the defendants’ behaviour gave “no guarantee” that they would not re-offend against animals. (ecopoznan.pl)