Guardian illustration by Danny Hellman
By Steven T. Jones
The long-awaited animal abuse lawsuit against Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus finally gets underway tomorrow morning in a federal district court in Washington DC. As the Guardian reported in August, the case highlights concerns that Ringling routinely abuses its Asian elephants and that federal regulators have turned a blind eye to its violations of the Endangered Species Act.
Plaintiffs American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, three other animal welfare groups, and former Ringling Bros elephant trainer Tom Rider are asking Judge Emmett Sullivan to sanction Ringling and its parent company, Feld Entertainment, and to revoke their ESA permits to use the elephants in their shows, which Ringling spokespersons have said could cripple the company.
“We feel really confident,” attorney Tracy Silverman with the Animal Welfare Institute, one of the plaintiffs, told the Guardian. “We have such strong evidence against Ringling Brothers that they’re violating the Endangered Species Act and we’re looking forward to laying that out in court.”