HUFF POST: Feld Entertainment, the parent company for “The Greatest Show on Earth,” told the AP it would phase out elephants by 2018, citing animal welfare concerns.
“This decision was not easy, but it is in the best interest of our company, our elephants and our customers,” CEO Kenneth Feld said in a press statement. Feld’s 43 elephants, which form the largest herd in North America, will retire to a 200-acre sanctuary in central Florida…
The company also cited the difficulty of fighting local legislation that would affect their shows. Late in 2014, Oakland, California, became the largest U.S. city to ban the use of bullhooks — a hooked tool commonly inserted in elephants’ skin to train and corral them. Los Angeles also enacted a bullhook ban that will go into effect in 2017… (more)
EDITOR: Just as with those who want to ban horse drawn carriages in New York Central Park, animal activists may cheer. But then there will be no more jobs for horses and hence no more horse. And the same applies to elephants.
What is the matter with allowing animals other than humans to do an honorable days work? In the next world, we wouldn’t mind coming back as a Central Park carriage horse. They seem well groomed, well fed, get exercise and are admired by youngsters as they walk around one of most delightful places in the world. Seems look a fun job.
