Constitutional Law

Animal Rights' Groups Head To Court Over Alleged Elephant Mistreatment

Animal welfare groups are urging a federal court to conclude that Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus harshly mistreats its elephants in violation of a federal law. The groups, including the Animal Welfare Institute, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Fund for Animals, maintain in their lawsuit that the circus uses clubs and bull hooks on the elephants and keeps them confined in unpleasant conditions, all in violation of the Endangered Species Act. In a press release about the case, the Animal Welfare Institute says that the groups have amassed photos, video and “internal Ringling Bros. documentation” to prove the abuse of the elephants. An attorney for the circus told The New York Times that the circus has passed federal and state inspections on its treatment of animals and called the lawsuit “false and distorted.” Tracy Silverman, an attorney for the Animal Welfare Institute, told the newspaper, “We simply want the elephants to be treated humanely and in accordance with the law.”

Full post as published by ACS Blog on February 03, 2009 (boomark / email).