The act involves several terrestrial snakes submerged in water in a large tank on stage, while a woman dances through them and handles them.

Moulin Rouge cabaret club in Paris has announced that it has dropped its long-running snake act.

The move follows growing pressure from animal rights groups.

The historic cabaret club, which was founded in 1889, tried really hard to keep the act going until 2024, the date it had decided to end all performances involving live animals.

According to the club, they ‘have never mistreated animals and will never mistreat them’.

However, the sequence which involves plunging terrestrial snakes into a water tank along with a dancer provoked ire among animal rights organizations.

The groups condemned the act through street demonstrations and petitions, while Paris city hall issued a warning on the issue.

The Paris mayor’s office also informed that the two species used in the act, Southeast Asian reticulated and Indian pythons are protected and live on land.

Bowing to the pressure, the management issued a statement last week (9 May)  confirming “the permanent end of the snakes’ number as of today”.

What is the act about?

The act involves several terrestrial snakes submerged in water in a large tank on stage, while a woman dances through them and handles them.

According to the animal advocates, they had seen the snakes trying to keep their heads above water in the segment.

They added that the mouth of snakes had been taped to stop them from biting, and other taping had been placed to stop them from defecating in the tank.

Historic move

Animal advocates applauded and termed Moulin Rouge’s decision to end the use of snakes “a historic move”.

Amandine Sanvisens of the Paris Animaux Zoopolis (PAZ) advocacy group said it went “in the right direction for ending animal captivity in France”.

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Mohsina Dodhiya

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