Activists 'Elated' but Skeptical on Ringling Bros. Decision to Remove Elephants

By Charlene Arsenault (Patch Staff)

Photo: Deborah Young joins other protesters at a recent Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Worcester, MA

Responding to years of pressure from animal activists and growing concern from the public, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has decided to phase out elephants from its show by 2018.

Feld Entertainment, which is the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, announced on March 5 that the Asian elephants would be removed from the traveling circus. Under that plan, 13 elephants that are currently traveling would be relocated to the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation. The conservation center, located in Florida, is home to a herd of more than 40 elephants.

The decision was difficult and “debated at length,” reported the Associated Press.

“There’s been somewhat of a mood shift among our consumers,” Alana Feld, the company’s executive vice president, told AP. “A lot of people aren’t comfortable with us touring with our elephants.”

While activists are still concerned about the decision, asking why it will take until 2018 to remove the elephants from the show and why other exotic animals will continue to be used, many are publicly cheering the decision.

“We are ecstatic about the breaking news that Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus will no longer be using elephants in their acts,” Laurence Van Atten, program director for Shrewsbury-based International Animal Rescue, told Patch. “With countries around the world completely banning wild animal acts in circuses, the United States has been lagging behind in progress. This is a huge step in the right direction. This move proves that public opinion about animals used in entertainment is changing as people become more aware of the training involved and the endless transports from city to city where they are loaded and unloaded onto trucks in inclement weather they are not adapted to. The suffering inflicted is not worth the 20 minutes of ’amusement’ they provide. The circus is simply no life for a wild animal.”

Several animal activist groups organize protests of the shows at venues, and have Facebook pages such as Ringling Bros. - The Cruelest Show on Earth with thousands of followers.

“This is great!,” commented Megan Anthony Barnett under an announcement of the news to eliminate elephants. “What about the big cats? This is definitely a step in the right direction but they have many more animals.”

Deborah Young has protested the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA, every year for the last five years. Young, who operates the Sturbridge, MA-based animal rights group Private Citizens for Pets in Peril, says she’ll continue to protest until the elephants and other animals are not in any of the shows.

“I think it is fantastic that they have decided to stop using elephants in the shows,” said Young, “but what about the other animals? They say that they will wean them out by 2018. I personally wish they would do it sooner. I hope they are really planning on doing it and not just blowing smoke to kill a few years and then say they have changed their minds. Wild animals belong in the wild. We have no right to take them out and treat them as we do. Using bullhooks, tasers and chains ... it’s no way for an animal to live.”

“We are very glad Ringling has taken this step. In the future we hope they will include their lions, camels and tigers as well,” said Helen Rayshick, executive director of the Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition (MARC), a statewide animal rights group that campaigns to end animal exploitation. “On behalf of the elephants and all the folks who are so happy that Ringling is doing the right thing at last, we sincerely hope that Ringling keeps its promise.”

The Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation is home to the largest herd of Asian elephants, and Feld said it has the most successful breeding program for this endangered species in the Western Hemisphere.

Tigers, lions, horses, dogs, camels and other animals will still be used in the traveling circus.

The change was made to the show, which is 145 years old, to allow the company to focus on conservation programs in North America and in Sri Lanka, where Feld has a partnership.

“This is the most significant change we have made since we founded the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in 1995,” said Kenneth Feld, Chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, in a press release. “When we did so, we knew we would play a critical role in saving the endangered Asian elephant for future generations, given how few Asian elephants are left in the wild,” said Kenneth Feld, Chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment. Since then, we have had 26 elephant births. 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. This decision was not easy, but it is in the best interest of our company, our elephants and our customers.”

“This is a step forward but I don’t trust them an inch!” said Carol Richardson, a member of the “Cruelest Show on Earth” Facebook page. “What are they going to do with the elephants at their conservation place? Breed more and sell to zoos, or even worse, to other circuses - not just in America but elsewhere in the world? They also have to stop using other wild animals in their shows or in fact ANY kind of animal.”

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