Feld's right move on retiring elephants, the historic circus icon
"The Greatest Show on Earth" closed the curtain on a centuries-old circus tradition treasured in some quarters and vilified in others. The crowd-pleasing elephants, the biggest circus stars in stature and popularity, took a bow last weekend during their final shows and will no longer tour with the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Palmetto-based and circus owner Feld Entertainment retired the last touring Asian pachyderms earlier than first announced -- by some 18 months.
While many lament this passing of an era, Feld took a judicious path toward addressing the mounting scrutiny on circus elephant acts as more and more cities and counties adopted "anti-circus" and "anti-elephant" regulations as the public outcry over animal cruelty claims kept the pressure on elected officials. Those laws, which primarily banned the use of bullhooks to train elephants, made touring with the animals to some 115 cities annually difficult to organize and expensive to fight in the courts.
The growing shift in public opinion also played a key role, the company conceded.
In the company's initial announcement of the retirements last March, President Kenneth Feld told the Associated Press: "We're always changing and we're always learning."
The last 11 elephants on tour will retire to Feld's 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation, between Tampa and Orlando near Polk City. They will join the 29 pachyderms already retired there. Feld owns the largest herd of Asian elephants in North America, a expensive endeavor as each mammal costs $65,000 annually in care. This reflects the family-owned entertainment giant's commitment to the world's largest mammal.
The circus will continue animal performances, with lion, tigers, horses, dogs, goats, pigs and other creatures.
In 2014, Feld gained a measure of vindication when the company won $25.2 million in settlements from organizations, including the Humane Society of the United States, that waged a 14-year court fight over accusations that circus staff abused elephants. The judge rejected those claims.
The perceptive and social mammals will now serve a much higher purpose than entertainment, a potentially life-saving one.
The elephants at Feld's conservation center are part of a promising cancer research project since the mammals are far less likely to develop cancer than humans. Two teams of scientists, granted access to the animals for the purpose of drawing blood, discovered their cells contain 40 copies of a leading tumor-suppressing gene, they reported in October. That important gene helps damaged genes institute repairs or self-destruct when cancer-causing bodies strike. Humans only carry two copies of the gene, one from each parent. If one is damaged, the odds of developing cancer are great.
Feld has formed a partnership with cancer researchers at a hospital, university and institute as well as other organizations. At an October Town Hall meeting for Feld employees here and broadcast to associates around the world, one of the scientists cautioned that a cure for cancer has not been discovered, but he also told the crowd that a drug based on the elephant research could reach clinical trials in three to five years.
Animal rights activists and organizations duly applauded Feld for the elephant retirement announcement. The entertainment company also deserves applause for the future wellbeing of the mammals at its conservation center. And for its partnership on cancer research, hopefully the elephant's greatest contribution to humankind.
This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Feld's right move on retiring elephants, the historic circus icon ."