Ringling Bros. Circus Plans to Phase Out Elephants

Caption: Elephants Smokey, Tova & Cora enjoy some pre-bathtime watering at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation. Courtesy: Ringling Bros. Facebook page.

In a decision many animal activists have lauded as compassionate and long-awaited, The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced this week that elephants will no longer star in acts, beginning in 2018.

The circus will gradually “phase out” the elephants, amid the public’s concerns of the animals’ treatment, reports NBC and The Associated Press.

Representatives from Ringling’s parent company Feld Entertainment told AP that the decision was, “difficult and debated at length,” but that a “mood shift” among consumers indicated it was the best move.

The company owns 43 elephants, 29 of which live on their 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in central Florida. Thirteen of the animals will continue on with the circus until 2018, when they will be retired at the center.

Other animals will continue to star in the circus, with billing alongside more acts including, “motorsports, daredevils and feats of humans’ physical capabilities.”