As the Circus Comes to Town, the ASPCA Reminds New Yorkers of Abuse Inflicted Upon Circus Elephants

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Thursday, 20 March 2003

Lawsuit pending in U.S. Federal Court Charges Mistreatment of Elephants by Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Employees

As Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus continues its 2003 national tour, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), is reminding the public about the abuse that circus staff regularly inflicts upon performing elephants. The ASPCA charges that to "train" and "control" its elephants, Ringling Bros. routinely keeps them in chains and beats them with "bullhooks"-clubs with sharp metal hooks on the end. In support of these claims, the ASPCA offers sworn accounts by former Ringling Bros. employees, U. S. Department of Agriculture documents that outline employees inflicting "physical harm" on their baby elephants, and video footage of Ringling Bros. employees striking elephants.

"People go to the circus because they love animals," says Lisa Weisberg, ASPCA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy. "What people do not realize is that they are supporting an industry that engages in animal cruelty."

The ASPCA and a former Ringling Bros. elephant worker have jointly sued Ringling Bros. under the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits "harming" any animal that is "endangered." Ringling Bros. uses endangered Asian elephants in its circus performances. The case is pending in the United States District Court in the District of Columbia.

The reports of abuse have been documented by several former Ringling Bros employees and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to these accounts, elephants are routinely kept in chains for as long as 23 hours a day from the time they are babies and are repeatedly beaten with sharp bullhooks in order to "break" them and make them perform on command.

The ASPCA also points to documentation from a USDA investigation that found Ringling Bros. inflicted "large visible lesions" on baby elephants at its "Conservation Center" in Florida. The wounds inflicted during "a routine separation process" in which baby elephants, less than two years old, were forcibly removed their mothers. After consulting an independent panel of elephant experts, the USDA informed Feld Entertainment, Ringling's parent company, that this treatment of the babies causes them "trauma and physical harm" and is completely "unnecessary." In the wild, baby elephants are not weaned until they are about four years old. Females stay with their mothers and the rest of their social units for their entire lives.

"All of this treatment violates the law and is cruelty," continues Lisa Weisburg. "Both the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act prohibit the abuse of endangered animals used in entertainment. It is time to end this archaic practice."

For more information, or to contact American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, see their website at: www.aspca.org