Circus man sentenced for elephant abuse
A circus manager was sentenced yesterday to four months in jail for animal abuse after a Thessaloniki misdemeanor court backed the suit of an animal rights group that had complained about the treatment of a performing elephant. Police filed charges against the Barcelona Circus after the Coordinating Committee of Animal Lovers and Environmentalists in Thessaloniki – which wants animal-free circuses – criticized the treatment of a female elephant that was kept in chains and forced to perform between January and March 1999 despite an injured leg. The circus manager, a Greek showman who uses the stage name Mike Lamar, did not attend the trial. he can buy off his sentence at 4.40 euros a day. Another Barcelona Circus manager was convicted to three months in jail for the same offense this March by a court in Poligyros, Halkidiki.
