Judge Sides With Circus in Elephant Cruelty Case

(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»

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»

(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»

Footloose pachyderm tours downtown Zurich

(NEWSER) - An escaped elephant went on a tour of downtown Zurich yesterday evening, spending an hour on the loose before police apprehended her. Sabu, a 26-year-old female from the Swiss national circus, cooled off in Lake Zurich before roaming the streets of the business district and doing a little window-shopping on the Bahnhofstrasse, Bloomberg reports .See video of the escapade in the gallery above or by clicking here . 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»