25 of 27 25 of 27 members of the Europen Union have banned the use of wild circus animals through their national legislature. As of today, Italy is not one of them. On November 8th 2018, Italy took its biggest step towards change by announcing plans to “…phase out all wild animals in circuses and traveling shows”. However, no execution steps have been declared or imple- mented since.
Today there are still a number of traveling shows within Italy that continue to employ the use of wild animals for entertainment, despite the clear and continuous research that proves the physical and psychological harm done to the animals throughout this process.

This project aims to highlight the disconnect between using wild animals for entertainment in contrast to what is considered to be a forwards-moving and first-world country. In particular, it will explore Circo Paolo Orfei and the use of wild animals in their shows. Circo Paolo Orfei is one of the longest-standing circuses in Italian history, and goes on tour every year bringing their caravan of animals with them in cities all over Italy. They set up on the outskirts of towns, places where their questionable structures and animal treatment is rarely questioned. After two or three nights of shows they leave, once again uprooting the stability of the animals under their care.