Ringling Brothers Eliminating Elephant Acts

It is the end of elephant acts at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

PETA has been calling for an end to the Ringling Bros elephant acts for years, and on Thursday the circus' parent company, Feld Entertainment, announced that they would in fact to phasing out the performances by 2018.

The company says that the 13 elephants currently part of the Ringling Bros shows will be sent to the circus' Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida by 2018, joining over 40 others already residing there.

Other animals, like horses, dogs and tigers, will remain a part of the 145-year-old circus' performance line-up, but there will be no more elephants under the big top.

In a statement from company Chairman and CEO Kenneth Feld, he says of the change,

this is the most significant change we have made since we founded the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in 1995. When we did so, we knew we would play a critical role in saving the endangered Asian elephant for future generations, given how few Asian elephants are left in the wild . . .This decision was not easy, but it is in the best interest of our company, our elephants and our customers."