Brit-born lion tamer slammed for 'cruel' circus act as big cats 'trained through fear'

Daily Mirror

04-05-2025

Martin Jr Lacey says he loves his animals, but his big top act has has attracted considerable criticism and protests - with experts warning of a variety of welfare concerns for the big cats.
He has described them as the perfect killing machines, but that doesn't stop controversial tamer Martin Jr Lacey from forcing his pride of big cats to perform at Europe's biggest circus.
Three tigers and 22 lions, dubbed as 'breathtaking predators', are currently part of his act at Circus Krone in Germany - the last country in the EU not to have introduced plans for a full or partial ban on the use of wild animals. But experts warn that while the artists perform voluntarily, the animals are trained to do so - by fear. For them, life in the circus also means years of suffering, say campaigners - constantly moving from place to place in exhausting journeys. When they are not performing for entertainment, they endure a miserable life in a cage.
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His use of wild animals, which has also included a hippo, elephants and zebras, has attracted considerable criticism and protests. Just a few weeks ago protesters were kicked out of the show which also uses camels, horses and dogs. Tickets cost from 59 Euros.
"The s uffering of animals in circuses must finally end," said Peter Höffken, PETA Germany's specialist for animals in the entertainment industry. "Tradition does not justify cruelty to animals."
The Mirror watched on while British-born Martin Jr Lacey, 47, entered the circus ring in Munich for his dangerous performance alongside his 17-year-old son Alexis, who is following in his father's footsteps.
While the band above pumped out the opening chords of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, Martin Jr grabbed the tail of one male lion pretending to use it as a microphone. Minutes later he was sprawled on top of another. A lioness also rubbed her head against his before he embraced her for a hug.
His performance peaks as he coaxes the lions to run around the circus ring on his command, while the crowd - full of children and parents - roar with applause. Later a cracking of the whip can be heard, before two tigers -one white - start jumping on their hind legs across the circus ring floor.
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But experts say the big cats are "trained" with whips so that they fear the trainer, conditioning them to perform unnatural behaviours to avoid punishment.
Emily Wilson, FOUR PAWS UK Head of Campaigns said: 'To carry out tricks and displays for audiences, these animals undergo cruel training practices often based on dominance, fear and punishment.
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'Whips are cracked to generate fear in the animal causing them to rear up on their hind legs and walk unnaturally, or having furniture pushed onto them to taunt the animal to elicit an aggressive response. This is not entertainment."
Chris Lewis, Captivity Research & Policy Manager at Born Free, said the whip is 'used to coerce the big cats in desired ways through fear and punishment'. He explained: "The behaviour of the big cats (ears back, wide eyes, wincing) all indicate a fear of the items used by the trainers. The hunched shoulders of the lion indicate an anticipation of conflict. Similarly, the tigers can be witnessed flinching when in close contact with the trainer and the whip or prod. Such chronic stress can result in short and long-term psychological trauma. The environment in which they are forced to perform (bright lights, loud music, surrounded by unfamiliar people) could magnify such stress.'
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Born in Sunderland, his father Martin Sr, was a zookeeper who taught himself to train lions and went on to present big cats in Gerry Cottle's Circus before founding his own Circus Harlequin and Great British Circus. Billed as 'The Man Fear Forgot', he also trained the tigers in the Esso adverts and was a regular animals presenter on educational TV show Magpie. Martin's mother Susan, presented tigers around the world and won a Silver Clown in Monte Carlo in 2005. Family photos show dad with his arm in a lion's jaws, mum riding polar bears, and the children posing with elephants.
After boarding school and as the circus industry dwindled in the UK - eventually seeing a ban on wild animal use in 2020 - Martin Jr and his brother Alex moved abroad to continue the family trade. In Germany he married Jana Mandana Lacey-Krone, part of a historic circus family which dates back to 1905. She also featured in the show the Mirror watched performing on selection of white and black horses. In 2019 Martin won the circus' highest award, the Clown d'Or or Gold Clown, for an act featuring 23 lions and three tigers.
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But his act does not come without danger. Just last month a circus performer in Egypt had his arm amputated after a white tiger bit his hand when it put it through the bars.
All the big cats in Martin Jr's performance have been bred in captivity by his family over the last 50 years including a rare white tiger.
Experts say in the wild, the odds of a white tiger cub being born is one in every 12,000 births. WWF says 29 in every 30 born will be blind, deaf, or suffering from epilepsy, scoliosis, and a myriad of other defects. Most are euthanised or sold into the pet trade or to roadside zoos.
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More than 150 wild animals still perform in some 75 circuses in Germany. Nearly half are big cats. A report conducted by Animal Advocacy and Protection (AAP), found at least 89% of the exotic animals they rescued from European circuses suffered from mental or physical trauma.
The family also runs Krone Farm in Wessling, Bavaria, home to retired circus animals and opened to the public in 2020. Here we witnessed Alex Lacey perform a big cat training session which ended with a tiger feeding encounter. Children lined up to feed a chuck of meat on the end of a stick to two caged tigers for five Euros each. Peter Hoffken, from PETA Germany, who has been campaigning for an animal circus ban, said the family were 'squeezing every last Euro out of these magnificent animals.' He said these animals will continue to suffer without a ban on exotic animals in circuses.
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Chris Lewis, Captivity Research & Policy Manager at Born Free added: 'In the wild, the median annual home range is 214km2 for lions and 87km2 for tigers, with daily travel distances of 11km (lions) and 8km (tigers). This highlights the stark difference between circus life and the wild. Health issues are likely exacerbated by a life which restricts freedom of movement or exercise due to small cages and constant feeding to reward tricks and behavioural performances.'
He added: 'Circus training methods are frequently based on dominance and fear. The trainer is at constant risk of being injured or attacked if an animal challenges their dominance as evidenced by numerous incidents in circuses around the world over the years.
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'Circuses do not promote, nor benefit, conservation or meaningful education of visitors. The behaviours they are forced to perform are often unnatural in nature and would not be displayed by big cats in the wild, therefore the performance is nothing more than entertainment with the big cats, even in retirement, exploited as a commodity.
HIS RESPONSE:
Comparing himself to the Last of the Mohicans, Martin Jr Lacey rubbished the claims against him and said: 'I love my animals, like you love your children. They have a great and happy life. We are professional.'
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He explained how he left England 'because of all these lies' and after 'being threatened by animal rights groups' since he was a child. He added: 'The British public have been lied to that we are animal abusers. They have killed the circus because there are no more animal trainers in England. '
When questioned if they were living their best lives, he replied: 'Absolutely. They have first rate health care…they have the best meat….and we have a family of animals which are not inbred. We can go on for the next 20 years with no inbreeding, different bloodlines. We don't inbreed our animals.
"My family has always been careful about breeding because we want healthy, intelligent animals. I've been 25 years in Germany, which has strict controls. Every single week we are visited by vets. I'm not being told by some animal rights group that I am wrong in what I do.'
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Martin Jr referenced a 1990 report funded partly by the RSPCA by Dr Marthe Kiley-Worthington, who said 'circuses were, by their nature, not cruel' and his own scientific study comparing his lions, some in a Swiss zoo and those living in the wild in Africa. He said it found that 'my lions were more active.'
When questioned about the use of the whip he said: 'The animals are absolutely not scared at all of the signal stock' and that he had travelled to China and Russia to advise them on welfare standards. He also said stress tests showed the animals were not impacted when travelling between towns when Circus Krone on tour.
He said the claims about his big cats not being able to freely roam like they would in the wild, were also rubbish, adding: 'There's not one lion that walks left and right with boredom" within his group.
'They're far better off than any animal in these welfare group homes [sanctuaries]" adding he "would love to do a documentary about how my animals compare.," he added.