Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey recently rocked the animal-law world by announcing its decision to retire its circus elephants. The decision follows decades of public protests and high-profile litigation. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v. Feld Entertainment, 873 F.Supp.2d 288 (2012), the largest and most significant case of its kind, has gone back and forth between the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, including review by an en banc panel. The litigation was ultimately unsuccessful—and indeed backfired in a spectacular way for the animal advocacy organizations that brought it—but the end of elephant use in the largest circus in the country is nonetheless on its way spurred in no small part by this landmark case.
Circuses have long been targeted by animal advocates for obvious reasons. Unlike zoos that argue they have value in the areas of conservation, education and research, circuses are purely for entertainment purposes. Most people would agree that animals should not be made to suffer just for our entertainment. Now, think about what animals do in the circus. Do elephants naturally stand up on their hind legs, beg for food, and sit on balls? Do you think a lion would permit a saddle to be placed on his back and allow a human to ride him? What would a tiger do with a man or a ball in the wild? Jump through fire? How did we get them to do that?
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