Portugal’s last remaining circus elephant, named Julie, is set to be transferred to a new retirement sanctuary in the Alentejo region, it was announced on Thursday in a joint statement by the Victor Hugo Cardinali Circus and the Pangea Trust, the organisation responsible for the facility. The sanctuary will be located across the municipalities of Vila Viçosa and Alandroal, in the Évora district, and Julie is expected to arrive there in June this year.
According to information released to the press, Julie travelled from South Africa to Portugal as a young calf and joined the Victor Hugo Cardinali Circus in 1988. Following the Portuguese Parliament’s 2018 ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, and its subsequent implementation, Julie, a female elephant, was withdrawn from performance in 2024.
The statement explains that “while the Victor Hugo Cardinali Circus was considering Julie’s future, Pangea succeeded in creating the conditions necessary to offer her a permanent home”, adding that the agreement was reached voluntarily. The circus will remain “closely involved throughout the entire transition process”.
Victor Hugo Cardinali acknowledged that the decision had been difficult. “Julie has been a deeply cherished member of our family for more than 30 years,” he said. “But we believe this is the right decision for her.”
The sanctuary will occupy a 402-hectare site spanning the municipalities of Vila Viçosa and Alandroal, land acquired by Pangea in 2023. The organisation’s mission is to end the exploitation of elephants across Europe, and the project is being developed in partnership with the two local councils. Already described as “Europe’s first large-scale elephant sanctuary”, its principal aim is to provide lifelong care for elephants formerly kept in zoos and circuses.
The facility is expected to accommodate between 20 and 30 elephants, although that figure may be revised, organisers said during the sanctuary’s presentation in November last year. At the time, it was noted that funding for the project, as well as for the non-profit organisation itself, established in both the United Kingdom and Portugal, comes entirely from private international sources, including major donations, individual contributions, and grants from foundations and institutions.
Head of the charity, Kate Moore, stated that funding secured for the next decade stood at approximately €15 million, though this amount could increase depending on the project’s future needs.
Source: Pangea Trust
