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In a stunning and exciting announcement today to the Associated Press, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus announced it will no longer incorporate elephants into their shows by the year 2018.
Ringling Brothers, the most famous circus and other circus acts have been under much scrutiny for their horrific treatment of elephants and other animals as seen in footage and photographs that have been widely circulated.
The world’s most notorious circus elephants have been at the center of lawsuits and ongoing complaints from animal rights activists.
Ringling Bros. said it currently has 13 elephants traveling for its shows.
“No other institution has done or is doing more to save this species from extinction, and that is something of which I and my family are extremely proud,” said Kenneth Feld, the chairman and CEO of Ringling Bros. owner, Feld Entertainment.
In 2014, Feld Entertainment won $25.2 million in settlements from a number of animal-rights groups, including the Humane Society of the United States and the ASPCA, ending a 14-year legal battle over unproven allegations that Ringling circus employees mistreated elephants.
“In late 2011, Feld Entertainment reached a $270,000 settlement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act occurring between 2007 and 2011. The settlement allowed the company to avoid admitting any wrongdoing or USDA violations. “Animal care is always a top priority at Ringling Bros.,” Kenneth Feld said at the time.”
“The penalty was the largest to date in the Animal Welfare Act’s four-decade history, according to Mother Jones, which reported on the alleged violations after a yearlong investigation. Each violation carried a maximum fine of $10,000, meaning the USDA was likely citing the company for at least 27 violations. Mother Jones’ investigation revealed elephants were “whipped with bullhooks, trapped in train cars filled with their own feces, and chained in place for a good part of their lives.”
What will happen to the elephants? Their 43 elephants which form the largest herd in North America will retire to a 200-acre sanctuary that Ringling Brothers created in 1995, according to CEO Kenneth Feld (in a press statement.) They will live out their lives at the Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida. The center will be open to scientists and researchers and others studying Asian elephants.
The sad news is Ringling will still be using some animal acts in their shows including camels, tigers, dogs and goats. They will also incorporate motor sports including truck shows, motocross, and the International Hot Rod Association.
The question that puzzles me is: why can’t they stop using the elephants today?
Their next show is scheduled in Allentown, Pennsylvania in April.
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It’s about time. I don’t see why they have to wait years to stop using them in their shows. I never attend circuses which use animals.
They’re still going to use other animals. They will still be abusing animals. I guess it will take decades to stop them from doing that as well. I don’t understand how they can be so cruel to them. I’m a man and I find it reprehensible what other men do to the animals.
Stop using them NOW! What’ wrong with them? This isn’t a time to celebrate. The elephants are still enduring abuse and neglect. So are their other animals.