The remaining Ringling Bros. elephants are being retired in May … two years earlier than planned.
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Because of this, Feld Entertainment announced in March of 2015 that it would be phasing out its elephant act by 2018.
The touring circus show will perform eight shows from April 21 to 24 at the Charleston Civic Center with its Asian elephants before their final acts in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and Providence, Rhode Island, the following week. In addition, many cities around the country have banned the use of elephants in circus acts in response to pressure from animal-rights organizations like PETA and the Humane Society. The group has alleged that the Center for Elephant Conservation has a history of elephant abuse, including keeping animals in chains on concrete floors and subjecting them to the use of bullhooks and electric prods. It is in rural central Florida.
Stephen Payne, a spokesman for the parent company, confirmed by email on Monday that the shows will now end this spring.
“Rather than fight city hall, we chose to take those resources and use them for conservation of the species”, he said in a telephone interview.
There are now 11 elephants touring with the famed circus, and another 29 living on the company’s 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida. Further, though the circus has always called its elephant program a “conservation” effort, not one of the circus’s elephants will ever be fit to be released into the wild.
Past year we also told you about a rumor that Feld Entertainment would be purchased by Disney. “We’re talking about 145 years of a splendid tradition here”, Aria said. And could they handle the additional waste, water and food associated with 11 more elephants? Those animals, as well as human performers, will fill the gap left by the elephants leaving the stage.
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Aria said, not only will the elephants be treated well, they will also be able to breed. Elephants recognize their human handlers and remember them, so the visits will be reunions of sorts at CEC.
