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POLK CITY, Fla. (AP) — Animal rights groups are taking credit for today's announcement by the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus that it will be phasing out the use of elephants at its performances.
The animals have often been featured on posters for the circus over the decades.
Circus officials say the decision is a result of growing public concern about how the animals are treated.
For now, 13 elephants will continue to tour with the circus before retiring to a facility in central Florida by 2018, where they will join 29 others.
The executive vice president of Feld Entertainment, the parent company of the circus, says there's been a "mood shift" among circus-goers. She says a lot of them "aren't comfortable" with the use of the elephants.
The company says some cities and counties have now enacted "anti-circus" and "anti-elephant" ordinances -- and that it's hard to plan tours amid changing regulations.
Ingrid Newkirk of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says the group has protested what it calls Ringling's "cruelty to elephants" for 35 years. She says if the circus is serious, then it's time to "rejoice" -- but that the circus needs to retire the elephants immediately.
%@AP Links
194-a-10-(Stephen Payne, Vice President of Corporate Communications, Feld Entertainment, parent company of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, in AP interview)-"for elephant conservation"-Stephen Payne, a spokesman for Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, says the circus has made a major decision regarding of its iconic acts. (5 Mar 2015)
<<CUT *194 (03/05/15)££ 00:10 "for elephant conservation"
197-a-11-(Stephen Payne, Vice President of Corporate Communications, Feld Entertainment, parent company of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, in AP interview)-"won't be elephants"-Stephen Payne, a spokesman for Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, says elephants will be phased out of the shows, but the circus will continue to present acts with horses, dogs, camels and big cats. (5 Mar 2015)
<<CUT *197 (03/05/15)££ 00:11 "won't be elephants"
APPHOTO FLCO408: In this Jan. 3, 2015 photo provided by Feld Entertainment Inc., elephants perform at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus said it will phase out its iconic elephant acts by 2018. (AP Photo/Feld Entertainment Inc., Gary Bogdon) (3 Jan 2015)
<<APPHOTO FLCO408 (01/03/15)££
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