Circus to go on trial for elephant abuse

[Guest guest]

South China Morning Post

By Agence France-Presse in Washington

2008-10-25

 

Circus to go on trial for elephant abuse

 

 

The legendary Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey circus goes on trial on

Monday in Washington for allegedly abusing the elephants that perform in the

group's shows.

 

The federal district court in Washington will hear the animal abuse case

against Ringling Bros and its parent company, Feld Entertainment, eight

years after a former employee teamed up with animal advocates to launch the

lawsuit.

 

The case will focus on whether the company, billed as The Greatest Show on

Earth, violated the Endangered Species Act by training its Asian elephants

with sharp bull hooks and chaining the animals for days on end.

 

The plaintiffs - including former employee Tom Rider, the American Society

for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Animal Welfare

Institute - will present evidence against Ringling that includes witness

testimony, video footage and testimony from elephant behaviour experts

accumulated over the years.

 

The complaint states that Ringling engages in unlawful activities by

routinely beating the elephants to 'train' them, 'discipline' them and keep

them under control, chaining them for long periods of time.

 

Lisa Weisberg, a legal consultant for ASPCA, said the circus routinely used

sharp implements such as bull hooks to coerce the elephants.

 

They hook them in very specific places of the body where they are very

sensitive, behind their ear, under their chin ... Used at a very young age,

the sight of the bull hook is used as an instrument of intimidation, she

said.

 

Mr Rider, a Ringling employee from 1997 to 1999, said the only time the

elephants were let off their chains is when they are performing.

 

The elephants, which in the wild routinely walk long distances each day,

were reported to be chained up in some instances for 26 hours at a time.

 

The trial is the culmination of eight years of legal wrangling to bring the

case to a federal court.

 

Michelle Pardo of Fulbright & Jaworski, the law firm representing Feld

Entertainment in the case, said animal rights advocates were distorting the

facts by making false allegations about the treatment of Ringling Bros

elephants.

 

Feld Entertainment would demonstrate during the trial that its elephants are

healthy, alert and thriving, she said.

 

Copyright © 2008. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights

reserved.