Undercover at the circus: four months of violence behind the ring

On 15 July 2026, the animal rights organisation LAV and the Fondation Franz Weber published the investigation «Il sistema circhi», which documents mistreatment in Italian circus operations. Il sistema circhi», which documents mistreatment in Italian circus operations.

The footage comes from four months of undercover work and concerns not just a single operation, but 19 sites across nine regions.

What the footage shows

An investigator infiltrated a circus operation and filmed for four months, both during the performances and, above all, behind the scenes. According to the two organisations, this is the first case in which a person has documented a circus from the inside in this way in Europe.

The material recorded in January 2026 at Circo Medini shows physical mistreatment of animals, breaches of employment law with workers lacking proper contracts and safety standards, as well as unhygienic conditions and the illegal disposal of manure. The assessment of the 19 sites also revealed animals being locked up for hours or days, along with being struck and kicked. The findings were reported to the competent authorities.

The investigation thus refutes the isolated-case argument that circus operations regularly put forward when abuses come to light. The documentation targets the system, not a single operator.

The legal situation in the EU

23 of the 27 EU member states have restricted the use of animals in circuses or completely banned the use of wild animals. However, performances remain permitted in several large EU states, because the legislation on this is decided at national level rather than at EU level. LAV is calling on the Italian authorities to enact a ban and thereby catch up with those European countries that have already taken this step.

It is remarkable that Italy had already decided on a phase-out model back in 2017. On 8 November, parliament passed legislation requiring the gradual withdrawal of animals from circuses and travelling exhibitions, with the concrete implementation delegated to a later ministerial decree. To this day, this decree does not exist in any effective form. The current images are therefore also the result of a political stalemate.

Switzerland as a latecomer

Switzerland has no ban. Under the Animal Welfare Ordinance (SR 455.1), keeping wild animals in circuses and zoos is authorised if enclosures, spatial dimensions, care by trained personnel and veterinary provision meet the requirements. The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (BLV) noted that circuses, unlike zoos, are currently not subject to a comparable additional authorisation for particularly demanding animal species, and pointed to possible tightening in a future revision of the regulations.

The political initiatives were unsuccessful. National Councillor Isabelle Chevalley submitted a motion to define the animal species permitted in circuses, which the Federal Council recommended rejecting; it was struck off in March 2017 because it had not been dealt with conclusively within two years. The petition «No wild animals in the circus» by ProTier, Vier Pfoten and Tier im Recht was submitted with 70’676 signatures; the BLV saw no need for a ban and referred to the applicable legal situation.

The numbers have since been reduced: since 2015 only a few big cats have still been carried along, five tigers and seven lions in two circuses in 2015 and 2016, five tigers in one operation in 2017, three lions in 2019. In 2018 and 2020, no big cat acts took place in Switzerland. The BLV cites stricter animal welfare requirements, high costs of keeping wild animals and a more critical public attitude as the reasons.

The decline is therefore based on market logic and public pressure, not on a ban. That is precisely the weak point: what has arisen economically can return economically. A statutory ban would be the only robust safeguard.

The concept of dignity as an unused instrument

The Animal Welfare Act (TSchG, SR 455) expressly protects the well-being and dignity of the animal in Article 1. A violation of dignity under Article 3 letter a occurs, among other things, in cases of degradation. Anyone who makes animals perform tricks purely for the entertainment of the public must justify this burden with overriding interests. Entertainment is a weak justification. Swiss practice has so far barely applied this standard.