By: Teresa Brummett
Online Editor
For year’s children and adults alike have gone to circuses across America to see animals perform and do their tricks. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus is no different; until now.
Finally, after years of watching the elephants walk in and out tail to tail with the circus Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey is putting the use of elephants to an end.
For years PETA* (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and other animal right organizations have fought trying to get the elephants out of all circus shows. So as planned by 2018 the circus will no longer have the huge intelligent, majestic animals in their shows as they are phased out.
If it’s not enough the circus has been under fire for years about cruelty to the animals. They have had over $270,000 in fines for animal welfare violations. Which is the largest civil paid penalty to date. PETA has complained about the elephant’s abuse and what other animals have also gone through. They’ve argued for years about the stress that is put on these beautiful creatures and the hazards that go along with it.
Being put into cages where they are chained with hardly any clean ventilation or light for days. An average is around 26 days. As they are jostled around till their next stop. Then when they do get out, they have to do their tricks each night. And then it’s repeated over and over. Place to place. Which can also be life threatening on their joints and bones.
Besides the basic strain there’s the abuse from employees. They are zapped with the use of electrical cattle prods and hit and poked with bull hooks (similar to fireplace poker).
The abuse was draining these beautiful, once excited and energetic animals to bringing them to their knees and destroying what good there was in their lives.
They would even take the pregnant mothers and once the babies were born they would tie all four legs of the baby together before they would drag it out of the area away from its mother. Complete torture when the helpless employee listening to the cries and screams of the baby elephant as it struggles to get the feeling back into its legs
An undercover PETA employee commented saying “that the elephants had abnormal behavior typically seen in animals who are suffering from extreme stress, frustration, and boredom. It brought attention to them as the light in their eyes dimmed and they became broken.”
So as babies they are raised and taught tricks and then shoved into their cages, and after years of repeating this over and over it’s not that hard to believe why any of these animals would not walk away damaged in one way or another.
Besides being stressed elephants can be very aggressive animals when they feel like they are being threatened. And can run at a top speed of 15 miles per hour at a force of 6,000 pounds for Asian elephants and 12,000 pounds for African bush elephants. It’s not hard to believe that you wouldn’t want to be in the path of one of these elephants.
Elephants are large creatures and need to be in a place where they can live happy and so the R. B & B.B Circus is sending their soon to be retired elephants to what they call the CEC (Center for Elephant Conservation). But it’s not all green grass and roses as it sounds.
It’s known more of a breeding ground than a sanctuary. Where birthing mothers have been known to have their legs chained to the cement floors up to 18 hours. Where they will never have any type of a normal life.
Meanwhile these elephants will live in fear of being beaten and hit with bull hooks and cattle prods. Where they will never be protected and live out the rest of their lives free.
Around 30 elephants have died including babies since 1992. Including an 8-month old baby by the name Riccardo. He was euthanized because he had broken his leg jumping off a pedestal.
What’s sad is that elephants are not the only animals who have given their lives tragically. In 2004 a 2-year-old lion died of heat stroke while the circus was in the Mohave Desert.
And since 2010 several elephants have tested positive for a human strain of tuberculosis (TB) and herpes and like the human tuberculosis and herpes it can spread to humans. But is a very rare virus in the wild.
Animal abuse is so much worse than people realize. Do your part and get involved.
**PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has been around since March of 1980. PETA which is based in Norfolk, Virginia is led by international president Ingrid Newkirk.