ANIMAL, THE Portuguese animal rights association, protested on December 29 against a circus in Algés, which included acts by a British performer whose family has previously been condemned in Britain of cruelty to animals.
Miguel Moutinho, the President of ANIMAL, told The Resident: “We carried out four protests in one day, which had very positive outcomes in raising awareness for our campaigns against animal cruelty and the banning of the use of animals in circuses in Portugal”.
Two of the planned protests took place in Lisbon, in front of a shop that sells clothes made from animal skins and furs in the Chiado area and also in front of the Circo Moscovo circus, owned by Victor Hugo Cardinali in Algés.
“We targeted the circus especially because we knew that Susan Chipperfield was performing there with tigers,” said Miguel Moutinho. “She is associated with her parents’ company Mary Chipperfield Promotions which was closed down after being condemned of 13 acts of cruelty against a baby chimpanzee in Britain.”
During the protest, the animal rights association collected many signatures for its cause and distributed pamphlets to passers by. “The protests in Lisbon were very positive; many people who had arrived to buy tickets to see the circus show changed their minds and came to speak to us instead,” said Miguel Moutinho.
Tomorrow (Saturday), ANIMAL is due to protest again in front of the Circo Atlas in Lisbon and also in Porto.
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