All of The Ringling Bros. Elephants will Finally be Retired and Rehabilitated this Year

The American circus has been an awe-inspiring magical spectacle for centuries.  Once upon a time, before the internet, before television, before radio, it was one of the only forms of entertainment for many.  The traveling circus was an opportunity for people to experience the world outside of their towns alongside traveling salesman selling snake oils and miracle cures.  Luckily snake oils were eventually seen for what they are; bullshit.  The circus, however, has taken an unreasonably long time to get with the times when it comes to archaic views on animal treatment.  Exhibit A: Elephants.

Elephants and circuses are synonymous.  People love seeing the gentle giants dance and twirl and jump through hoops for our entertainment.  What we don't see, is what their world looks like outside of the candy

 As Global Citizen has discovered, "Many circus elephants are stolen from the wild, ripped from their mothers when they are just infants... Then they are shipped to training facilities where they undergo rigorous training that involves deprivation, pain and negative reinforcement... Their daily lives are marked by bull hooks, electric cattle prods, ropes and fireplace pokers to get them to contort and strain into difficult positions and memorize strange movements."

 But now, The Ringling Bros., one of the world's largest circuses, is ending all elephant circus acts.  All of their touring elephants will be retired and rehabilitated in May of 2016.  Though this is a victory, there are likely many other circuses who need to follow suit and take some responsibility for animal treatment.