All the Asian elephants working in traveling circus units for Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey are heading to retirement in Florida
Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey, names which have been synonymous with circuses in America for decades are part of the parent company called Feld Entertainment.
Feld Entertainment has been under fire for the use of elephants and last March announced all elephants will be eliminated from the circus they perform in by 2018.
But earlier this week in an announcement, the company announced that the timing will be earlier than expected. Now all 42 Asian elephants will be at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida by spring, much sooner than expected.
PETA’s Ingrid Newkirk has said that the elephants in the circus have suffered greatly, many of them are blind and are stricken with TB.
This is a day for rejoicing but we would rather that the day comes today.”
Waiting until 2018 meant three more years of bullhorns and whips for the animals, she said.
PETA has also said the “retirement” home for the elephants and the work with pediatric research is self-serving for the parent company. The research on the elephants, which has lower rates of cancer than humans, will result in a major tax deduction for the circus, according to PETA.
A better option, the animal rights group said, is a real conservation sanctuary for the elephants.
