Together with LAV and the Franz Weber Foundation, Fanpage.it reveals exclusive footage collected across the country.
Verbal and physical violence against animals and people, labour exploitation, and the dumping of waste into the environment. This is what we found together with the Franz Weber Foundation after anonymously receiving footage recorded during a four-month undercover investigation at the Medini Circus, between January and May 2026.
Convinced that Medini was unlikely to be an isolated case, together with the Franz Weber Foundation, we set out to expose what we call the “circus system”. Nineteen circuses were monitored and filmed before, during, and after live performances; the footage confirmed abuse and violence. The reality documented bears no resemblance to the dreamlike image promoted on circus posters.
The evidence comprises two distinct investigations: an anonymous undercover investigation at Medini, which revealed the reality inside one of Italy’s best-known circuses; and monitoring of the nineteen circuses with animals currently operating in Italy, filmed during performance-related activities. All the material was provided exclusively to Fanpage.it for publication in Italy.
For the first time, someone has managed to go undercover inside a circus in Europe. For four months, the investigator filmed both the performances and, above all, what happened behind the scenes, revealing a pattern of violence and humiliation. After seeing this footage, no one can continue to describe the circus as a form of cultural entertainment. For years, LAV has called on the Italian Government to put an end to this, but no minister or government has yet had the courage to say: ‘No more animals in circuses.’ Today, we again call on Culture Minister Giuli and Undersecretary of State for Culture Cannella to finally implement the long-delayed enabling act on the performing arts by ending the use of animals in circuses, following the example set by more than 50 countries worldwide. Only then can a sector that has been in crisis for years be genuinely renewed, building on the success of animal-free circus productions.
We had already reported the Medini Circus to the authorities in April 2025 over alleged animal mistreatment, after footage showed poor animal management and inadequate conditions in the areas where the animals were kept.
The new footage, recorded between January and May while the Medini Circus was based in several municipalities in Piedmont, appears to show multiple forms of violence against animals: animals being struck with sticks, whipped, slapped, and pulled by the ears to move them.
These acts are accompanied by contemptuous language, in stark contrast with the claim that circus animals are part of the circus family.
According to the footage, the Medini Circus operates through a rigid hierarchy built on fear and violence: the owner concentrates power in his own hands, while every person and animal under his authority is subjected to intimidation and exploitation.
The footage also raises serious concerns about children at the circus. They are often shown witnessing adults use violence against animals and then imitating that behaviour. Several clips show children addressing animals aggressively and hitting them with sticks, mirroring the conduct of the adults around them.
Three children under the age of 14 also appear to take part in the circus’s daily activities in circumstances that raise concern, and all three are often included in the performances. One nine-year-old said: “My father doesn’t want me to do them [the performances], because he always says that the police don’t want children to work (...) but in this town I can work (...) because they are friends with my father, they let me work. The head of the police station was [my father’s] former schoolmate.”
Circus workers receive no better treatment than the animals. The footage and recorded statements indicate that some workers are exploited, lack formal employment contracts, face physical and verbal violence, and work in precarious conditions that may breach basic workplace health and safety requirements. Several workers told the hidden camera that they had no employment contract. The apparent safety failures may also put paying audiences at risk: one recorded statement suggests that the Medini Circus does not even have fire extinguishers. Another clip shows water leaking into a circus tent close to electrical cables, creating a serious electrical hazard, including the risk of a short circuit.
The footage also documents the environmental impact of these activities. Manure is shown left in a field for more than a month, while organic waste from faeces and urine seeps into the ground, darkening the surrounding soil. Under the applicable rules, organic waste from circuses with animals must be disposed of by an authorised company because it is not classified in the same way as waste from farmed animals. However, several circus workers said that the waste was discharged directly onto fields, which would constitute a clear breach of the law. One worker even claimed that leaving the waste in fields was legal.
When LAV and the Franz Weber Foundation received and reviewed the anonymous footage, we decided to document and expose conditions across the circus sector. The material we collected confirmed that Medini is not a ‘bad apple’ in the circus world, but merely one of many circuses that use and mistreat animals — and whose abuses extend beyond animals
Over several months, the nineteen circuses with animals currently active in Italy were monitored and filmed as they toured nine regions. Our video-making teams and from the Franz Weber Foundation travelled across Italy to document repetitive, stress-related behaviour; confinement conditions incompatible with the animals’ natural needs; tiny cages in which animals are confined for hours or days; and animals being struck with sticks, kicked and otherwise hit while being moved. This is what happens outside the circus tent. Inside, the cameras recorded acts and exercises that are degrading and incompatible with the animals’ natural behaviour.
The footage clearly shows animals that appear to be undernourished; dromedaries being pulled by the tail during grooming or having hair forcibly pulled out; the absence of essential forms of environmental enrichment, such as a water pool for the hippopotamus; and animals kept waiting on asphalt, sometimes covered by only a thin layer of straw.
Ending this requires an institutional decision. Responsibility now lies with Culture Minister Giuli and Undersecretary of State for Culture Cannella. They must finally give full effect to Enabling Act No. 106/2022 before the delegated powers expire on 31 December 2026. We know that the Medini circus is not an exception, just as the Martin circus was not: its conviction for animal mistreatment became final in 2024. All its animals…, so that their rights and dignity could be protected and they could enjoy a safe retirement, free from violence,”
We have already reported the findings shown in these videos to the relevant authorities to protect both animals and people. More than 20 European countries have introduced full or partial bans on the use of animals in circuses, including Sweden, Austria, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. In 2022, Italy adopted Enabling Act No. 106, which provides for phasing out the use of animals in circuses and travelling shows. Yet, unlike other countries — and despite strong public support for a ban — implementation has been postponed for almost four years.
It is time to take the final, decisive step. We are calling for the Act to be implemented through a complete ban on the use of animals in circuses.
Prime Minister Meloni, put an end to the suffering of animals kept captive in Italian circuses and lead the country toward a more compassionate and civilized future.
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