A VETERAN lion trainer working for the nation’s oldest touring circus has stood by the company’s animal welfare practices, claiming the big cats were “part of the family”.
This follows police being called out to the Mount Gambier Showgrounds last Friday night after an animal welfare activist caused a commotion at the Lennon Bros Circus.
It is understood police spoke to the protester and asked her to leave after reports she was touching people’s vehicles, standing
in front of cars and “abusing” patrons.
The circus – which rolled into the Blue Lake city last week – is one of only two circuses left in Australia with lions in its program.
Exotic animal trainer Mohammed Jaratlou – who has been working for Lennon Bros Circus for more 25 years – yesterday categorically rejected any claims of animal cruelty.
Giving The Border Watch a close look at the lions yesterday, Mr Jaratlou described protesters as being ill-informed and encouraged people to come out to the showgrounds to view the lion enclosure if they had concerns.
“We have nothing to hide and people are quite welcome to come out and have a look, but some people do not actually want to come and want to stay within their own cocoons,” he said.
Mr Jaratlou said circuses were governed by tight rules and regulations regarding the keeping of exotic animals and the three lions owned by the circus were sixth generation “born and bred” in captivity.
“They are part of our family. A lot of people think there is animal cruelty, but those days are well gone.We are now in 2018 and the animals always come first,” the animal trainer said.
“They enjoy performing. Once the performance starts, you can hear the lions roaring. When they perform we reward them with food – we have no sticks to hit them, nothing.
“There are no longer little cages and we have better yards than in some zoos. The size of the enclosure is four times bigger than the regulations required.”
He said the 14-year-old lions had a good nature and were in regular contact with people.
“They certainly do not want to hunt you down and attack – it is not like that. They actually live longer in the circus than in the wild.”
Mr Jaratlou – who was born in Morocco – said the lions were given top quality meat and regular veterinarian checks.
The circus also travels only every two weeks and transports the animals over small distances at a time.
His wife Tracey Jaratlou – who is also a pivotal member of the circus – said she hoped the protest incident did not “tarnish” the circus’ time in Mount Gambier.
“Everybody is entitled to have a say, but we feel the activist was abusing our patrons. We are fine if people protest quietly, but this protester was touching people’s vehicles and got in the way of the traffic.”
Tracey said the activist was a “minority” with a large voice.
“It is really disappointing when people say we are cruel and there is no shelter on their yards, it is the first thing we do for them.
We all get upset when we read all that rubbish.”
She said the animals were stimulated because of their new environments every two weeks.
“It is a better environment than being in a zoo with the lions pacing up and down the same enclosure for the rest of the lives,” Tracey said.
“The lions also do not do anything crazy during the performances, they do not stand on their heads or jump through fire like some people think.”
Meanwhile, Mr Jaratlou said he loved the lifestyle and revealed the circus had an entourage of 35 people, 14 trucks, five semi-trailers and 14 caravans.
The entourage includes a school teacher, mechanic and a host of performers, including Russian acrobatic performers.
“We have been getting large audiences in Mount Gambier and we look forward to the second week,” Mr Jaratlou said.
“We are the oldest circus in Australia and we have a large variety of acts and animals – people love it.”
The circus will head to Hamilton next week after finishing its last show in Mount Gambier on Sunday.
Other animals appearing in the show include monkeys, camels, mini-donkeys and dogs.
