The Ringling Bros. circus will phase out the Asian elephants act over the next three years due to more and more cities barring such animal performances, according to the Associated Press.
Feld Entertainment, the owners of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, announced on Thursday the decision to discontinue the act that dates back to the late 19th century.
"It was a decision 145 years in the making," Juliette Feld told the AP. She helps run the family circus with her sisters and father, Feld Enterprises Inc. President Kenneth Feld.
Animal rights groups, like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and The Humane Society of the United States, tried to take credit for the change, but Kenneth Feld denied their celebration.
"We're not reacting to our critics; we're creating the greatest resource for the preservation of the Asian elephant," he said.
The circus will retire all 13 of its performing elephants by 2018 and relocated them to the company's 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation just outside Orlando, Florida.
Many cities and counties have passed "anti-circus" and "anti-elephants" ordinances, and the Feld president would rather put the money fighting such legislation around the country into the Florida center.
His family owns the largest Asian elephant herd in North America (43) and will add new structures to the facility to accommodate the incoming animals. Only scientists will be allowed to visit the center for research purposes, but the family may open it up to tourists in the future.
"There's been somewhat of a mood shift among our consumers," said Alana Feld, the company's executive vice president. "A lot of people aren't comfortable with us touring with our elephants."
Last year, Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif. both passed laws against the use of bull-hooks, which are used to control the elephants. The city of Ashville, N.C. also banned wild or exotic animals from performing at the municipally-owned U.S. Cellular Center last month.
Despite Kenneth Feld's denial, PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk still says her organization forced the decision to happen.
"For 35 years PETA has protested Ringling Bros.' cruelty to elephants," the group wrote in a statement. "We know extreme abuse to these majestic animals occurs every single day, so if Ringling is really telling the truth about ending this horror, it will be a day to pop the champagne corks, and rejoice. ... If the decision is serious, then the circus needs to do it NOW."
Smaller circuses around the U.S. and abroad will continue to use elephants in their shows. The Canadian-based Cirque du Soleil features only human acts and no wild animals.
