The Circus Is Coming Tomorrow--to Court: Ringling Trial Begins

It has been scheduled and rescheduled and delayed incessantly, but with any luck (for the plaintiffs and the elephants), representatives and lawyers from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will appear in federal court tomorrow morning, February 4, as the civil trial against Ringling, resulting from its horrid abuse of animals, finally begins in Washington, D.C. Along with a former Ringling employee, a coalition of animal protection organizations--Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute (hereafter referred to as Born Free USA), the Animal Welfare Institute, the ASPCA, and the Fund for Animals (absorbed by HSUS in 2005)--brought the lawsuit against Ringling Bros. way back in 2003 for "violating the Endangered Species Act by cruelly mistreating Asian elephants."

The plaintiffs have no shortage of evidence, including undercover photos and videos and the testimony of former employees. As Born Free USA explains,

The Asian elephant is currently listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), meaning that any acts that would “harm, wound, injure, harass, or kill” an Asian elephant in the wild or in captivity are prohibited. The lawsuit alleges that a number of routine practices by Ringling are in violation of the Endangered Species Act, including the forceful use of a bullhook and the chaining of elephants for most of the day and night. We have amassed a wealth of evidence to support these claims.

People don't want to hear that circuses abuse their animals (not just the elephants) or that circuses involving animal acts are inherently cruel simply by their nature, but it's true, and though this lawsuit is specific to elephants only, it is huge. It is far past time for Ringling to answer for the utterly terrible ways it has treated and exploited elephants. Even if you could prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that circus elephants are happy and pampered (and no circus elephant is; it is entirely impossible for an elephant to live a natural, healthy, happy life when captive with a circus), I'd still be entirely opposed to their use in circuses, but the abuse they suffer on top of the exploitation is incredible and inexcusable: the chaining and confinement, the attacks with the bullhook, the training techniques based on infliction of fear and pain--based on breaking the elephants' spirit.

Also from Born Free USA:

We have video footage of Ringling employees repeatedly hitting elephants with bullhooks, as well as video footage of the daily hitting and “hooking” of the elephants to make them stay in line, move in a particular direction, or perform on cue.

In addition, we have Ringling’s own internal written documents that discuss the mistreatment of the elephants. For example, Ringling’s animal behaviorist reported “an elephant dripping blood all over the arena floor during the show from being hooked.” In an internal email, a Ringling veterinary assistant reported that “[a]fter this morning’s baths, at least 4 of the elephants came in with multiple abrasions and lacerations from the hooks.” After the release of this information to the public, Ringling moved to prohibit the release of any additional information to the public provided via discovery.

The best resource on the lawsuit I've seen is indeed at Born Free USA's Web site; the group has dedicated a section of the site to providing details on the lawsuit, including "Court Documents" (where you can view PDF versions of several documents), "Get the Facts," "Incidents," "Video," and "Photos" subsections. You can start on the main page for the Ringling lawsuit and follow the links at the bottom of each page to proceed on to the next subsection, or you can navigate your own way by consulting the links in the left sidebar of the site. I strongly recommend that you read through each subsection if you have any interest in this issue. The issues relevant to this suit are well documented and well explained. And make sure you visit the pages offering general information on animals in circuses while you're there (e.g., "Animals in the Circus" and general "Get the Facts"). Ringling is not the only problem, and elephants are not the only animals suffering.

You don't have to be a plaintiff or witness in a lawsuit to do something about this. Boycott circuses that include animal acts--not just Ringling Bros. and not just circuses with elephants, but all circuses involving animal acts--and then take the next step and encourage your city to ban them as well. It's not entertainment; it's cruelty.