Talk with the Animals (Update)

Back in August, 2012, a section in my blog post, "Talk with the Animals," was titled, Spotlighting special concerns. It raised questions about the cruel treatment of animal performers in circuses.

     In March, 2015, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced the performances of Tonka, Luna, and other elephants would be phased out in three years, by 2018. In January, 2016, the date for pulling elephants off the road and sending them to a sanctuary was updated to schedule their departure for May, 2016.

     Although baby elephants are known to stay with their mothers for up to 16 years in the wild, in captivity, baby elephants are separated from their protesting mothers at birth. During their circus training to perform tricks, they are subjected to beatings with bullhooks (sharp weapons that resemble fireplace pokers) and can fall off pedestals, break their young growing legs, and have to be euthanized. Circus elephants also suffer from tuberculosis and arthritis. In the wild they can roam 30 miles a day, but when they travel with a circus, they are shackled in boxcars.

      Can nonhuman animals, such as elephants, chimpanzees, great apes, whales, and dolphins that are "sufficiently intelligent," be considered property and held captive legally? New York's Supreme Court will have a hearing on this question May 6, 2015.

    For more about how animals in circuses and zoos and endangered and exotic species are protected and treated, see the entire blog post, "Talk with the Animals."