Elephants Humble Humans in Eating Contest

Circus mistreated elephants and tigers, feds say

(NEWSER) - The Ringling Brothers circus—without admitting wrongdoing—has paid $270,000 to settle federal accusations that it mistreated elephants, tigers, zebras, and other exotic animals. Federal inspectors found that a sick elephant was forced to perform, elephants' faces were cut by sharp edges in transport trailers, big cats were kept in rusty cages with splintered floors, and meat was delivered to tigers in the same wheelbarrows that their waste was hauled in, MSNBC reports. More»

Animal rights group ends campaign featuring Michelle Obama

(NEWSER) - PETA has decided to pull the “Fur-Free and Fabulous” campaign that featured Michelle Obama—without her permission. PETA’s president last week confirmed the organization didn’t seek Obama’s consent because she can’t make such an endorsement, but insisted that because the first lady has called herself fur-free, “the world should know that in PETA’s eyes, that makes her pretty fabulous," Us reports. More»

Judge says plaintiff wasn't credible

(NEWSER) - A judge threw out an elephant abuse lawsuit against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, saying the plaintiff, former Ringling employee Tom Rider, hadn’t demonstrated a close enough attachment to the animals. Rider and the Animal Protection Institute had argued that circus practices like using bull hooks on elephants or chaining them for prolonged periods of times constituted violations of the Endangered Species Act. More»

(NEWSER) - PETA has released video it says shows cruelty to circus elephants, the Orange County Register reports. The tape shows Ringling Bros. handlers swatting elephants with “bull hooks,” and one pachyderm exhibiting signs of “severe psychological distress.” “This video again shows what we have been saying for years,” PETA charges. “These animals are routinely abused to perform in ways that they don’t naturally perform.” More»

(NEWSER) - The circus is in town, and in a related development, the New York City Council is considering a ban on the display of "wild or exotic animals" for entertainment, the Times reports. The bill, understood to be aimed at the Ringling Brothers pachyderms, has the support of almost half of the council's 51 members. "There is no wild,” said a lawyer for Ringling Brothers. “There is a dwindling wild in this world." More»