Ringling Bros. cruelty-to-elephants case heads to U.S. District Court

After more than eight years of legal skirmishing, a trial is scheduled to open Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by animal welfare groups alleging that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus routinely abuses its performing elephants.

The plaintiffs – including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Animal Welfare Institute – allege that trainers’ use of sharp tools called bullhooks and the prolonged use of chains on the Asian elephants add up to an egregious violation of the federal Endangered Species Act.

They seek an order from the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to halt these practices, which some activists hope would force Ringling Bros. to give up elephants altogether.

The non-jury trial before U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan is expected to last three weeks.

Ringling Bros. and its parent company, Feld Entertainment, have defended themselves aggressively since the suit was filed in 2000, contending their treatment of all circus animals is state-of-the-art.

Circus officials note that government regulations permit use of chains. They say the elephants are chained in place at night to keep them from foraging their companions’ food and during train rides to prevent sudden weight shifts that might derail their freight car.

The plaintiffs have asserted that Ringling Bros.’ own train records show the elephants are chained in railroad boxcars for an average of more than 26 straight hours, and often 60 to 70 hours at a time, when the circus travels.