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Our suit against Ringling for mistreatment of its elephants is finally underway in Washington, DC, before U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan. Our own Nicole G. Paquette, Esq., Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Born Free USA united with API, is a witness at the trial. Visit the trial press page to get the latest on this historical trial now.

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Ringling Brothers Circus on trial for elephant abuse

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus and its parent company, Feld Entertainment, Inc., will finally stand trial to face charges that the circus mistreats its Asian elephants in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act. The case is more than eight years in the making.

On Wednesday (Feb. 4), the plaintiffs, including Sacramento-based non-profit Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute (Born Free), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Animal Welfare Institute, the Fund for Animals, and former Ringling Bros. employee Tom Rider are scheduled to present their case in federal district court in Washington, D.C. Katherine Meyer of the public interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal will serve as lead counsel for the plaintiffs.

Ringling Brothers Circus on trial for elephant abuse
Gary Bogue
"Pets and Wildlife"
Bay Area News Group

Suit Challenges Image of Circus Elephants as Willing Performers

One of the most iconic images of American life, that of circus elephants joined trunk-to-tail as they lumber along to delight “children of all ages,” as the old saying goes, is about to be debated in a courtroom. Are the beasts docile because they are highly intelligent and respond well to training, reinforced with the promise of apples, carrots, water and kindness at day’s end? Or do they obey because their spirits have been broken and they fear getting hit by their trainers? These are among the questions that will be asked when a lawsuit by a coalition of animal rights’ groups [including Born Free USA united with API] against the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus and its parent company opens in federal court on Wednesday.

Suit Challenges Image of Circus Elephants as Willing Performers
David Stout
The New York Times

"An animal abuse trial against Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is set to begin next week in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C."

For more on Born Free USA united with API's involvement in this landmark case, which will be heard beginning February 3 before U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, click here.

Trial set on treatment of circus elephants
Natalie Neysa Alund
Bradenton Herald

An African elephant never forgets — especially when it comes to the loss of its kin, according to researchers at the University of Washington. Their findings, published online in the journal, Molecular Ecology, reveal that the negative effects of poaching persist for decades after the killing has ended.

Born Free USA has long recognized the damage poaching has done to elephant populations, as discussed in this recent article.

Orphaned Elephants Forced To Forge New Bonds Decades After Ivory Ban
Science Daily

Human actions are increasing the rate of evolutionary change in plants and animals in ways that may hurt their long-term prospects for survival, scientists are reporting. Hunting, commercial fishing and some conservation regulations, like minimum size limits on fish, may all work against species health. Reproducing at a younger age and smaller size allowed organisms to leave offspring before they were caught or killed. But some evidence suggests that they may not reproduce as well. Fish that are reproducing earlier “on average have far, far, far fewer eggs than those who wait an additional year and grow a few more centimeters.”

Born Free USA has long maintained that hunting to “manage” wildlife is counterproductive.

Research Ties Human Acts to Harmful Rates of Species Evolution
Cornelia Dean
The New York Times