Ringling Bros. Circus Will Retire All Elephants In May to Polk Conservation Center

Well I suppose this is a good thing for the animal lovers who believe that elephants are treated cruelly in the circus. I personally enjoyed seeing the elephants at the circus, and will miss their antics and escapades. At least they have a really nice place to retire to here in Florida where it stays rather warm most the year.
The Tampa Tribune




Here is a nice tour of where they will live.

The move comes amid increasing scrutiny on circus elephant acts with local governments passing “anti-circus” and “anti-elephant” ordinances in response to concerns over animal cruelty.

The company announced in March that it would retire the full herd to the center by 2018. But once officials began planning details, they realized “we could actually do this a lot sooner” because building the needed enclosures and spaces didn’t take as long as they originally thought, said Alana Feld, Ringling’s executive vice president and show producer.

Animal rights activists have long alleged that circuses have mistreated elephants.

In 2014, Feld Entertainment won $25.2 million in settlements from a number of animal-rights groups, including the Humane Societ y of the United States, ending a 14-year legal battle over allegations that Ringling circus employees mistreated elephants.

Elephants have been a symbol of the Ringling circus for decades. P.T. Barnum brought an Asian elephant named Jumbo to America in 1882.

Cancer research man! At least they can still contribute in this regard.

She said the retired elephants at the CEC will also be part of cancer research.

Cancer is much less common in elephants than in humans, even though the big animals’ bodies have many more cells. That’s a paradox known among scientists, and now researchers think they may have an explanation — one they say might someday lead to new ways to protect people from cancer.

Compared with just one copy in humans, elephants’ cells contain 20 copies of a major cancer-suppressing gene, two teams of scientists reported in October. The gene helps damaged cells repair themselves or self-destruct when exposed to cancer-causing substances.

The findings aren’t proof that those extra p53 genes make elephants cancer-resistant, but if future research confirms it, scientists could try to develop drugs for humans that would mimic the effect.

Well, the rest of the circus is rather entertaining as well. At least we still get to see tigers and such

Elephants DO NOT and never HAVE been put on Earth in order to be caged and trained to entertain the human beings. They belong in nature under protection of humans where humans can observe their true behavior in the wild for entertainment and education.

Glad to hear they are being freed from captivity.

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

but, but, we still do the same for dolphins and whales. Honestly I loved these guys growing up, but as I learned more about them getting older, I realized how inappropriate it really is. I believe it may be time to do the same for our marine mammal cousins as well. I swear at the Clearwater aquarium, sometimes they are trying to communicate with my children and I through the glass. I even interact with them at the local beaches during the year, its as if they want to talk to us about something.

So PETA wins, I guess its time to move on the dolphins and whales. I still will miss my elephants at the circus though

a reply to: AmericanRealist

A good news story

There are places to see elephants without the need for them to travel around the county , circuses shouldn't need animals to provide entertainment.

AmericanRealist

I still will miss my elephants at the circus though

You can still watch a lot of YT videos about elephants in HD...or, the best way to support animal rights is by not attending the circus, but zoos instead. I know still captivity, but at least the animals are not forced to do tricks for people there.

Here's a site that you may enjoy. You can learn about each individual elephant that has been "rescued" and lives/has lived at the 2700 acre sanctuary.
There are elecams that are positioned around the park and you can watch them in the comfort of your home at your leisure.

The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, is the nation's largest natural-habitat refuge developed specifically to meet the needs of endangered elephants. It is a non-profit organization, licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and accredited by the Association of Sanctuaries, designed specifically for old, sick or needy elephants who have been retired from zoos and circuses. Utilizing more than 2700 acres, it provides three separate and protected, natural-habitat environments for Asian and African elephants. Our residents are not required to perform or entertain for the public; instead, they are encouraged to live like elephants.

ELECAM

THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY

a reply to: TNMockingbird

That is amazing, and thank you for it. I think if we give it this kind of protection the progress we make in another few generations (50+ years), there may actually be a good indigenous population of elephants in North America.

Overall, Elephants are not treated all that well by traveling circuses. When I was a kid I used to love seeing the elephants; but I was a just a little kid and didn`t know anything about the reality of the situation. They traveling all over the country, and sometimes world, with very little time to relax and roam in any space large enough to provide them with any level of comfort. Also I read, and I don`t know if all those reports were confirmed or not, of abuses of elephants by traveling circuses. So, I guess it`s a good thing they are retiring all the elephants in their show to a comfortable peaceful and very non entertainment place.

When I think about it, during my adult life so far the best circuses I`ve been to didn`t have any animals at all in the show.

When you hear of circuses abusing elephants, it is generally smaller, more private ones, that didn't have the funds to hire trainers who really knew the animals. These largely died out years and years ago. Big name circuses actually do more for elephant conservation than any other entity, which is why it sucks to see these idiots protesting outside every Ringling performance.

I've only dealt with animal husbandry for a few years now, but everyone I've met (including a gal who worked with elephants, for Ringling) has a genuine love of animals (often caring more for their welfare, than their own).