After decades of scrutiny from the public accusing the Ringling Bros. Circus of animal cruelty, the company has decided to retire its elephants a year and a half earlier than they initially planned, reported the Associated Press. The elephant act will be officially retired in May.
The elephants will be moved to the 200-acre Center For Elephant Conservation in Florida, which is owned by the parent company of Ringling Bros. Circus, Feld Entertainment, said a spokesperson for the company according to the AP.
The Humane Society is thrilled with the decision. "Ringling had been one of the biggest defenders of this kind of archaic animal exploitation, and the imminent end of its traveling elephant acts signaled that even one of the most tough-minded and hardened animal-use companies now recognized that the world is changing and it had to adapt," said Wayne Pacelle, CEO and President of the Humane Society, according to the Associated Press.
The public seems to has soured on "abusive" shows, said Ingrid Newkirk of PETA, according to the New York Times. PETA is also calling for the cessation of the use of any animals in the circus' acts, including big cats.
Spokespeople for the circus said the decision was an economic one, not one that had to do with the animal cruelty accusations that the company has dealt with for decades. They said that it was becoming too costly to fight the "anti-circus" and "anti-elephant" legislation in many cities that they wished to tour in, according to the New York Times.
It costs $65,000 per year to care for each of the company's 11 elephants on tour, and the company owns another 29 that already live at the conservation center. This money will be used to continue the company's funding of pediatric cancer research and for conservation of the species, reported the New York Times.
Because cancer is less common in elephants than in humans, some scientists believe the key to a cure could be found in their blood. Many elephants at the conservation center will participate in research along these lines that can advance a cure for pediatric cancer, said Alana Feld, executive vice president of Feld Entertainment, according to USA Today.
Animal rights activists, though, believe the conservation center "is a sham," said Newkirk, according to USA Today. She said the elephants should be sent to a sanctuary, not a for-profit center that receives a charitable deduction.
The last shows that the elephants will perform in will take place May 1 in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
