The opening of Circo Bellucci yesterday proved to be a noisy affair as protestors' chants and whistles intermingled with the brass band that welcomed people to the circus.

Marika Mizzi, representing 17 associations, said animals are complex creatures and not robots to be stacked in boxes and hauled to the next show. She said their captivity drives them to neurosis and that animal-free circuses are just as exciting and entertaining, and in addition do not abuse animals.

The protesters gathered in Floriana to protest against cruelty to animals, saying that circus animals do not live in their natural environment.

Silvio Zammit from JS Productions Ltd, the company which brought Circo Bellucci to Malta said everyone has the right to protest. He said the circus has all necessary permits in order to run the show.

Explaining that the best judge on animals usually tends to be a veterinary, he produced a veterinary certificate issued on Sunday 10 December 2006. It attested that the animals do not show clinical signs of diseases or maltreatment, are kept according to regulations and are fit for being transported to Malta.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, Attilio Bellucci said Italian Government veterinary inspectors visit his circus once every three days. He invited the Maltese counterparts to do the same.

While touring the animal compound, Mr Bellucci pointed to a caravan in the middle of the compound. "That's where my brother, the circus director lives. His caravan is always in the middle of the animal compound so that he is close by if anything happens. We do care for the animals, as it would be stupid to maltreat them." Mr Bellucci added that if his animals were beaten, they would be afraid of him, however, upon approaching a stable, the horses just kept on munching away.

Speaking about animal-free circuses, Mr Bellucci said there were three such circuses in Italy, and they all went bankrupt; "One of them was run by the famous Paride Orfei and was supported by WWF, and it still went bankrupt."