Prerov, North Moravia, July 21 (CTK) – The Prerov Town Hall has imposed a fine of 6,000 crowns on a circus for having walked three elephants across the town, which local authorities assessed as a breach of the animal protection law, its spokeswoman Lenka Chalupova has told CTK.
The walk of the elephants, accompanied by their attendants, caused uproar in Prerov, a town with a population of 44,000, on May 3.
The animals then blocked a roundabout and caused chaos in traffic. Later they drank water from a fountain in the central T.G. Masaryk Square.
The town hall dealt with the suspected misdemeanour at the request of the regional veterinary authority, which was alerted by the municipal police.
After the elephants reached the town centre, the police terminated their walk for safety reasons and a police car escorted the animals back to the circus.
“We wonder at the action. Some may consider it [the crime of] endangering of public safety, since elephants are neither cats nor dogs,” town police deputy commander Miroslav Kominek told CTK then.
The fine for the circus is not yet definitive as the operator can appeal it.
