Recently Ringling Brothers announced it was retiring the circus elephants in May of this year. Although this is great news, it later came to the attention of many that the elephants would be taken to the Ringling Brothers’ Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida. According to National Geographic, the retired elephants will be used for breeding, possible cancer research, and in the future possibly be on display for the public.

The life of a circus elephant does not mirror the life of an elephant in the wild. Being trained to perform tricks through the use of bullhooks to entertain people and travel around the country most of the year, is not part of an elephant’s natural behavior. Retiring the elephants from this lifestyle should ideally entail rest, quiet, and receiving love and care. Sending the circus elephants to the Center for Elephant Conservation appears to not serve as a place of rest but where the elephants will continue to be used for breeding and possible cancer research.

 The facility is approximately 200 acres which is less than a half mile. In the wild, elephants may walk up to 30-40 miles per day. This amount of exercise is needed to help the elephants reduce the stress of their weight on their joints. Not only is the available land for the elephants to graze and roam small compared to the California Elephant Sanctuary run by PAWS (Performing Animals Welfare Society) that boasts 2,000 acres of land, the elephants are sometimes placed in pens for the day. If the elephants are retired to this sanctuary, they will not get the amount of space they need to exercise and graze.

In addition, at the Center for Elephant Conservation, the elephants are placed in enclosures at night made of concrete slabs where they sleep standing up and are shackled. Other elephant sanctuaries have enclosures with padded flooring for the elephants to sleep more comfortably lying down without being shackled. Having the proper sleeping facility is paramount for the elephants due to their age and wear on their joints.

Bullhooks, a tool circus trainers use on elephants as a means of controlling them by inflicting pain in sensitive areas such as behind the ears, mouth, or anus, are used at the center. The bullhooks serve as a constant reminder to the elephants what can happen if they are to get out of line.

Breeding, research, limited land use, shackles, and the use of bullhooks should not be part of the equation for retirement of these elephants. The whole experience of freedom and being able to live as elephants in the wild do will be completely lost if these elephants are retired to the Center for Elephant Conservation.

This petition represents a collective voice of people who care deeply for the humane treatment and quality of life for these elephants. We strongly encourage Ringling Brothers to send these elephants to accredited sanctuaries that will give them the love, freedom, and care they deserve for the remainder of their lives. By doing so, not only will Ringling Brothers ensure a quality of life these elephants so rightly and desperately need but can also exemplify to the world it's discernment to do what is just and fair.

Please sign this petition to ensure the circus elephants are retired to accredited sanctuaries.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." Gandhi

“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” Martin Luther King

"To do more for the world than the world does for you-that is success." Henry Ford

References:

1. National Geographic; Here's Where Ringling Bros. Is Sending Its Circus Elephants to Retire, 2015
2. www.lcanimals.org; Elephant Sanctuaries – Not Captivity!
3. www.wildlifeadvocacy.org; Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus' Mistreatment of Asian Elephants