We, the undersigned, respectfully urge the Government of France to end the captivity and commercial use of giraffes within its borders. France has already shown global leadership in banning wild animals in circuses — now it has the opportunity to build on that progress by banning the captivity of giraffes entirely.

France is home to dozens of giraffes kept in zoos, safari parks, and breeding facilities. These towering, socially complex beings are held in environments that cannot begin to meet their physical or psychological needs. They are displayed to paying crowds, bred behind barriers, and transported as assets — reduced to curiosities in a human-centred world.

In the wild, giraffes roam vast territories, form dynamic relationships, and engage in behaviours impossible to replicate in captivity. In confinement, they suffer from joint disorders, behavioural abnormalities, and shortened lifespans. Their height — a defining evolutionary trait — becomes a source of risk and discomfort in the enclosures we force them into.

Captive giraffes are especially vulnerable to chronic stress, injuries from inadequate infrastructure, and isolation from natural social structures. They are too often treated as commodities — traded between institutions, exhibited for profit, and bred for display rather than conservation.

It is not enough to claim welfare standards are “high.” No enclosure can recreate the African savannah. No captive breeding programme justifies the permanent confinement of individuals who can never live freely.

We respectfully request the French government to take the following actions:

1. Enact a national ban on the captivity of giraffes for entertainment, display, breeding, or private ownership.

2. Prohibit the trade, import, and export of giraffes and giraffe parts for commercial or non-conservation purposes.

3. Mandate the retirement of all currently captive giraffes to sanctuaries or protected reserves where their autonomy and dignity can be better respected.

France has a chance to lead with compassion, ethics, and science — to show the world that respecting animals means more than better cages. It means recognising when confinement itself is the injustice.

This is your moment to lead once again. To honour the wild. To let giraffes be who they are — not exhibits, not assets, but sovereign beings of the earth.

Please act now.