Ringling Brothers Stands Trial for Abuse

By Broadside Contributor Brianne Lanigan

In a book titled The Circus King, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus grandfather, Henry N. Ringling, says that, "it is not usually a pretty sight to see the big cats trained . . . they are all chained to their pedestals and ropes are put around their necks to choke them down and make them obey. All sorts of other brutalities are used to force them to obey the trainer and learn their tricks. They work from fear."

In addition to the beatings detailed by Ringling, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has decades of records describing Ringling Bros. violence towards the animals under their care. The animals deserve justice.

On Feb. 4, a trial eight years in the making finally began. The defendants, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, along with its parent company, Feld Entertainment, are now being held accountable in federal court for these documented abuses and violations of the Endangered Species Act.

Ringling Bros. has been charged with unlawful, abusive treatment of the highly endangered Asian elephants used in their circus. Sworn testimony from former Ringling Bros. employees and video footage have documented that Ringling Bros. uses a weapon known as a bullhook, or “guide,” to beat the elephants into submission in order to train them to performance tricks.

Tom Rider, a plaintiff and former Ringling employee, stated under oath to Congress that, “after my three years working with elephants in the circus, I can tell you that they live in confinement and they are beaten all the time when they don’t perform properly.”

This unprecedented trial will decide whether or not Ringling Bros. will be prohibited from further use of bullhooks and leg chains on the elephants. What does this mean for the future of Ringling Bros.?

Is the use of force and weaponry really so vital to keeping the “Greatest Show on Earth” on the road? Ringling Bros. seems to think so. Circus officials have publicly stated that they will stop touring with elephants if bullhooks and leg chains are made illegal.

Let’s say this happens. And I hope that it does. Year after year I’ve stood on our campus and watched how the elephants are tied up with leg chains in the Patriot Center parking lot while Ringling Bros. employees openly strike them with bullhooks.

Henry Ringling got it right when he called these practices “brutalities.” So yes, I certainly hope that Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. Federal District Court in Washington declares the use of bullhooks and leg chains illegal.

But what happens with the elephants once their leg chains are unlocked? Often, in cases where circuses are found guilty of animal abuse, they will offload and sell the animals to other entertainment venues, zoos or captive breeding facilities.

I do not believe that these are appropriate environments for traumatized, over-worked animals. It would be better for each one of the elephants to be retired to an animal sanctuary such as The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee.

It is here where they will get the treatment and environment that healthy elephants require. Located on 2,700 acres, The Elephant Sanctuary was specifically developed to provide for the needs of endangered Asian and African elephants.

The Elephant Sanctuary is home to a herd of rescued elephants and is qualified to open its arms and take in the magnificent animals that Ringling Bros. neglects and abuses on a daily basis.

As educator and theorist Paulo Freire taught, “washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.”

The injustice of Ringling Bros.’s abuse calls us to action. In addition to the courts making the use of force and weapons illegal, every member of our Mason community can take a stand to ensure that justice is served for the animals.

We can all make the educated choice not to purchase tickets to the circus when they arrive on our campus in April.

We can also do the animals one better by joining together to demand that George Mason University and the Patriot Center no longer be a party to abuse by hosting the circus every year. Many countries and entire states have banned or restricted the use of animals in entertainment.

Sears, Visa, MasterCard, General Mills and Burger King each terminated their sponsorship of Ringling Bros once they learned about the animal abuse. This ongoing trial signals that it is time for Mason and the Patriot Center to do the same.