Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea dismissed Globus Circus manager Victor Coman on Friday, one day after one of the circus’ buildings caught fire, leaving 11 animals dead.

“Regarding yesterday’s incident and the fact that animals died in that fire, we can’t blame only one person, because it can happen anywhere, but any institution manager must understand that, beyond the creative work, he is also responsible for the institution’s activity and management. Therefore, the manager of Globus Circus was dismissed today because yesterday we had a very difficult situation with a few animals that, although they were no longer in the performances of the circus, should have received the same attention from the state circus’ management, and have proper shelters, both the animals and the persons taking care of them,” Firea said, quoted by local Agerpres.

A building housing animals of the Globus Circus in Bucharest caught fire on Thursday morning, leaving 11 animals dead. The fire apparently started from an electric heater, Adrian Marin, spokesman of the Bucharest-Ilfov Inspectorate for Emergency Situations told local News.ro.

On Thursday, Globus Circus manager Victor Coman said that the building was only housing some of the circus’ retired animals.

This incident has brought again into question the use of wild animals in circuses. An online petition asking the banning of wild animals in circuses was initiated yesterday, and already gathered more than 35,000 signatures.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com