PETA loses in court

The Washington Post ^ | Wednesday, December 30, 2009; 9:20 PM | The Associated Press

[TheShaz]

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge Wednesday ruled in favor of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in a case brought by animal rights activists who accused the circus of abusing elephants.

[TheShaz]

Judge rules for Ringling Bros. in elephant case

The Associated Press Wednesday, December 30, 2009; 9:20 PM

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge Wednesday ruled in favor of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in a case brought by animal rights activists who accused the circus of abusing elephants.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan said former Ringling employee Tom Rider and the Animal Protection Institute did not have legal standing to sue the circus, owned by Feld Entertainment Inc. Rider and the animal protection group brought the lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act.

During the six-week trial in February and March of this year, the attorney for the animal rights groups asked the judge to stop the circus from harming the elephants during performances and punishing them for bad behavior. They alleged that the use of bullhooks and prolonged chaining violated the federal law.

Feld Entertainment argued that the animals are not hurt and that the instruments are necessary to keep the pachyderms under control and protect public safety.

At the time, the judge expressed some reluctance to police circus methods and asked how the prods and chains are different from spurs used on horses and whips with tigers.

Ringling Bros. said during the trial it cannot have the Asian elephants without these instruments because there is no other proven way to keep the animals under control and protect their trainers and the viewing public.

Feld's attorneys said their elephants are healthy, alert and well-cared for, including those that travel with the show and those that live at the company's 200-acre conservatory in Florida.

[FoxInSocks]

"Judge rules for Ringling Bros. in elephant case"

Please don't modify headlines.

I'm glad PETA lost.

[FoxInSocks]

"Judge rules for Ringling Bros. in elephant case"

Please don't modify headlines.

I'm glad PETA lost.

[FoxInSocks]

"Judge rules for Ringling Bros. in elephant case"

Please don't modify headlines.

I'm glad PETA lost.

[FoxInSocks]

"Judge rules for Ringling Bros. in elephant case"

Please don't modify headlines.

I'm glad PETA lost.

[FoxInSocks]

I didn’t mean to repeat myself. Sorry! I’m using my iPod.

[Rannug]

Hey TheShaz, Did you get the message yet? :-)

[peeps36]

I despise PETA but I might disagree with this decision if the circus treats elephants like the ones who travel with the carnival. The elephants who give people rides at the carnival must have horrible lives. They spend a lot of time in a trailer traveling from state to state and they are chained by the leg when not working. The elephants never look like they have any interest in what they are doing.

[AnalogReigns]

I’ve worked with cattle on a farm. Cows are gentle and passive animals (bulls are not...) BUT, they are so massive, they can (and do) easily hurt people by stepping on feet or crushing you against a fence. Whips and or cattle prods are absolutely necessary when working with them otherwise one can get seriously hurt.

Elephants are several times larger than cattle. Every year one or two elephant keepers on America are killed (usually by crushing). So the methods used, chains and prods—if elephants are to be around people at all—are absolutely necessary simply to protect human life.

Of course if PETA had its way, we’d all have to kill ourselves, cause human life impedes on animals.