The Beauvais Criminal Court on Monday sentenced Mario Masson, a tiger trainer, to a fine of 5,000 euros and the confiscation of his ten felines for ill-treatment, we learned from the prosecution.
The trainer was also banned from breeding and showing animals to the public for two years.
He will have to pay some 120,000 euros to the Tonga Terre d'accueil association, for the care of tigers in a dedicated refuge in the Loire, since their seizure at the end of 2020.
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The defendant was also found guilty of multiple violations of the Labor Code, benefit fraud and concealment of income.
The court decided to confiscate the sums seized from his accounts in the amount of 61,000 euros.
This former Circassian, judged in September, will also have to pay more than 127,000 euros to the civil parties, according to the lawyers for the animal defense associations One Voice and Stéphane Lamart, who were among the civil parties.
His lawyer, Me Olivier Roquain, told AFP to wait to discuss with his client for a possible appeal.
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The tigers had been seized at the end of 2020 in Blacourt, near Beauvais (Oise) as part of a prosecution investigation opened after a complaint from One Voice for “
acts of animal abuse
”.
It had been entrusted to the French Office for Biodiversity.
The One Voice association had monitored and filmed the tigers for several months, revealing the case in a series of videos posted online.
"
This is the first time that a circus trainer has been convicted of ill-treatment
," said Muriel Arnal, president of One Voice, to AFP.
“
These tigers only knew the truck in which they lived, locked in spaces of 2m2 between bars, and without water
”, she put forward, pointing to an “
appalling promiscuity for them
”.
“
We can only be satisfied with this decision which recognizes the discomfort suffered by these tigers
”, reacted Me Patrice Grillon, who represents the Stéphane Lamart association.
