Following calls from animal rights activists to end its use of elephants in performance, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey have discontinued the animals in all forthcoming circus shows.
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Animal lovers have also raised concerns about the psychological well-being of elephants forced to spend months on the road in tiny cages, and about the often brutal training methods Ringling Bros. uses to prepare young elephants for the circus.
After Sunday’s performance, the 11 animals will live out their days at Ringling’s 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida.
“Thank you so much for so many years of joy”, he said as the elephants left the ring for a final time. On Sunday, activists showed up for a final elephant protest, urging the company to end all of its animal acts.
It’s today’s Feedback at 5:00. “And we felt this was the right time to do it”.
The final shows in Providence were scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.at the Dunkin Donuts Center in downtown Providence. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can.
Performing elephants, a staple of the circus for decades, will no longer be part of the big-top event.
In January, I wrote that the next time the circus comes to town, the elephants wouldn’t be here.
At least 17 countries have outlawed circus acts featuring wild animals, but the practice remains largely legal in the United States.
This video includes clips from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and images from Getty Images.
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“Do we celebrate this last day – yes”, said Chris DeRose, founder of Last Chance for Animals, one of the protesters outside the stadium here. “When the elephants peek through the curtain … the crowd’s reaction just goes insane”, he said. This after years of pressure from animal rights groups. Ringlin Bros. elephants will now be given a new home at the circus’ elephant refuge in central Florida.
