The Moulin Rouge will end its number featuring snakes of protected species immersed in a pool, he said Thursday after a letter from the town hall of Paris asking him "to no longer use wild animals" in his shows.
“
Aware of societal developments on animal welfare, the Moulin Rouge will stop this number
,” said the famous Parisian cabaret hall after the letter from the town hall, dated Friday and of which AFP had a copy.
The cabaret, however, specifies that it has already announced this decision to the two deputies co-rapporteurs of the mission for the application of the law of November 30, 2021 against animal abuse, Anne-Laurence Petel (Renaissance) and Danielle Simonnet (LFI).
This law, which reinforces the supervision of shows featuring wild animals, concerns discos and television sets, but not cabarets.
"
The question of respect for animals (...) has always been essential
" for the Moulin Rouge, which does not give an end date for its show, evoking "
reasonable notice
" for "
the artists and service providers involved
".
“Animal suffering should not be a spectacle”
Douchka Markovic, councilor for Paris, environmental group
In this daily cabaret show, a dancer dives into a transparent pool and manipulates large pythons, which try to keep their heads above water.
"
The two species used in this part of the show, a molurus python and a reticulated python from Southeast Asia, are protected species
", write the assistants of the mayor Anne Hidalgo in charge of the animal condition, Christophe Najdovski , and tourism, Frédéric Hocquard, in their letter to the Moulin Rouge.
These two snakes are terrestrial and "
even if they are good swimmers, this staging does not take into account the natural behavior of these species which remain wild animals, even captives
", add the two assistants.
Read alsoThe Moulin Rouge denies any animal abuse in its show Féerie
Christophe Najdovski had been challenged on this subject by animal protection associations but also, Thursday at the Council of Paris, by the elected representative of the environmental group Douchka Markovic.
"
Animal suffering should not be a spectacle
," she said.
The town hall of Paris, which adopted in July 2021 an “
animal welfare charter
”, banned wild animals in shows produced in places belonging to it, which is not the case of the Moulin Rouge, a private establishment. .
But in May 2022, the town hall was embarrassed by the presence of a marabout, a wild bird, in a play produced on a municipal stage.
According to her, the theater had pledged not to contravene the charter in the future.
