Russian circus stranded in RP

Russian circus stranded in RP

MANILA (AFP): Fifteen members of a Russian circus troupe and 21 circus animals have been stranded in the southern Philippine city of Davao after their Filipino promoter abandoned them, the official Philippine News Agency (PNA) said.

"We have no money, we have no food for ourselves and our animals to exist normally. We have no documents for the repatriation of our equipment and animals from the Philippines to Russia," PNA quoted troupe leader Boris Fedotov as saying.

The agency said the group was part of a bigger entourage that performed in the central city of Cebu last year but which broke up due to internal disputes.

Fedorov's group went to Davao and agreed to perform for the Twentieth Century Fairs and Amusement Inc., but the promoter has since left the city and stopped providing the daily food allowance for the troupe two weeks ago, it said.

The circus' elephant, two camels, seven bears, two St. Bernard dogs, a puma, a kangaroo, one pony, a llama, a tiger, a python and three chickens were surviving on discarded vegetables from the local market and collected by a Roman Catholic church charity.