The Associated Press
Michelle R. Smith
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—An elephant carrying a performer holding an American flag kicked off the final elephant performance at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus yesterday as the show closes its own chapter on a practice that has entertained audiences in America for two centuries but has come under fire by animal rights’ activists.
Six Asian elephants were delivering their final performances in Providence, R.I. while five performed in Wilkes Barre, Pa. earlier yesterday.
The last Providence show was streaming live on Facebook and at Ringling.com
In Providence, after a trip around the ring, the elephant carrying the flag stood at attention during the national anthem.
A few minutes later, six elephants entered the ring—each holding the tail of the one in front of her.
Alana Feld, executive vice-president of Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus, said the animals will live at its 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida.
Its herd of 40 Asian elephants, the largest in North America, will continue a breeding program and be used in a pediatric cancer research project.
Elephants have been used in the circus in America for more than 200 years.
In the early 1800s, Hackaliah Bailey added the elephant “Old Bet” to his circus. P.T. Barnum added the African elephant he named “Jumbo” to “The Greatest Show on Earth” in 1882.
The Humane Society says more than a dozen circuses in the U.S. continue to use elephants. But none tour as widely or are as well- known as Ringling Bros.
It’s also getting more difficult for circuses to tour with elephants.
Dozens of cities have banned the use of bullhooks—used to train elephants—and some states are considering such legislation.
Just as in the Disney movie “Dumbo,” elephants in the past have been dressed up as people and trained to do a range of tricks: play baseball, ride bicycles, play musical instruments, wear wedding dresses, or dress in mourning clothes, said Ronald B. Tobias, author of the 2013 book, “Behemoth: The History of the Elephant in America.”
The change at Ringling signifies a shift in Americans’ understanding of elephants,.
People no longer see elephants as circus performers, Tobias said, “but sentient animals that are capable of a full range of human emotions.”
Attitudes are shifting about other animals, as well. Last month, Sea World announced it would end live orca shows and breeding.
Ringling will continue to use animals including horses, lions, tigers, dogs, and kangaroos in its shows, Feld said.
