Elephants that travelled in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus have officially retired after performing in their final shows, ending a 145-year tradition of elephants performing in the circus.
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During a live broadcast of the elephant’s final performance on the Ringling Bros. website, Alana Feld, a third generation member of the Feld Entertainment business, and the field entertainment director, said the day was a “momentous occasion”.
Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson paid a fitting tribute to the elephants, telling the crowd, “This is a very emotional time for us” as the performance drew to a close.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CNN) – After years of giant tricks and synchronized dances, the elephants at Ringling Bros. will perform in one final act Sunday.
But several animal rights groups have repeatedly criticized picketed and sued the Ringling Bros. for its treatment of the animals.
She recalled some of her favorite circus memories, which included the elephants, especially the time they visited her 7th birthday party and gave rides to her friends.
The Humane Society of the United States says more than a dozen circuses in the USA continue to use elephants.
PT Barnum added the African elephant Jumbo to his circus in 1882, but Hackaliah Bailey added an elephant to his show in the early 1800s.
Handlers employed by Ringling Brothers maintain that the tool is not used to harm to elephants – which typically weigh 8,000 pounds (3,600 kilograms) – but merely to signal them and give them tactile directions.
At the time, Feld Entertainment’s vice president of communications, Steve Payne, told NPR’s Jackie Northam that the family that controls the company “decided that removing the elephants from the circus units and bringing them to the Center for Elephant Conservation was in the best interest of the company and, most importantly, the elephants”.
It’s also getting more hard for circuses to tour with elephants. More and more outfits are halting the acts, and the exit of Ringling as a “political protector” of the use of elephants and the bullhook is likely to spur more local and state governments to crack down on the practice, he said.
The circus will still feature other animals including tigers, lions and horses. He also insisted the center’s breeding program is vital to preserving North America’s Asian elephants.
Thankfully, after years of protest from animal rights groups and anyone with a heart, that is part of the past now. A researcher at the University of Utah is working with Ringling to study the elephants’ blood cells. The company will integrate new technology, including video projection mapping, to create a “good vs. evil” performance.
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“I think people will get a lot more satisfaction out of elephants living their real lives than to see them performing as clowns”, Tobias said.
