The Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey circus has officially announced that as of 2018 the last 13 performing elephants will retire and then be joining 29 other elephants at the company's 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in central Florida.
For those of you who don't know what these elephants and other animals have been through, please keep reading... Zoos & circuses often prevent animals from engaging in basic natural behaviors such as flying, swimming, running, hunting, climbing, scavenging, and selecting a mate. The restrictions of captivity cause mental and physical frustration that often leads to neurotic behaviors, such as pacing, bar-biting, and self-mutilation.
For those of you who don't know what these elephants and other animals have been through, please keep reading... Zoos & circuses often prevent animals from engaging in basic natural behaviors such as flying, swimming, running, hunting, climbing, scavenging, and selecting a mate. The restrictions of captivity cause mental and physical frustration that often leads to neurotic behaviors, such as pacing, bar-biting, and self-mutilation.
These animals are often forced to sleep in cramped, sometimes filthy trucks, boxcars, or cages. They are also under a lot of pressure to perform. The above pictures of young elephants shows how they get trained, which is sometimes very confusing for them. The trainers use metal bull hooks to correct any mistakes the elephants make. The bull hook can be seen in the hands of the man in the bottom-right hand picture (it resembles a fireplace poker).
So please everyone don't stop campaigning! The rest of these animals need your help!
What you can do: Never attend circuses that use animals, instead of going to the zoo, watch films of animals in their natural habitats performing normal behaviors such as walking, feeding, playing, mating, fighting etc, support groups that work to preserve habitats & reputable nonprofit sanctuaries that rescue & care for animals but don't sell, breed, or exhibit them, and last but not least if a circus comes to your town, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper urging people not to attend & explain why.
So please everyone don't stop campaigning! The rest of these animals need your help!
What you can do: Never attend circuses that use animals, instead of going to the zoo, watch films of animals in their natural habitats performing normal behaviors such as walking, feeding, playing, mating, fighting etc, support groups that work to preserve habitats & reputable nonprofit sanctuaries that rescue & care for animals but don't sell, breed, or exhibit them, and last but not least if a circus comes to your town, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper urging people not to attend & explain why.