Animal advocates are celebrating another major victory for animals: New York state has officially banned performing elephants.
Even though we celebrated when Ringling Bros. announced it would be retiring its elephants, and later closing down, there are still many other circuses and companies dragging them around the U.S. for entertainment. Fortunately, the public is turning against this form of cruelty, and New York is the latest state to confirm this.
The Elephant Protection Act, which was just signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, will forever ban the use of elephants in any kind of entertainment acts, including circuses, carnivals, parades or trade shows, as of October 2019.
“The use of elephants in these types of settings is dangerous to their health and potentially abusive,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “The Elephant Protection Act furthers this administration’s efforts to fight animal cruelty, and create a stronger, more humane New York.”
Research, undercover investigations and news reports have all exposed not only the problems inherent with keeping elephants this way, but also the heartbreaking and violent abuses they’re exposed to behind the scenes, which all causes them tremendous physical and emotional suffering.
“Elephants have been exploited and abused in entertainment acts for too long. Confinement, torture and unhealthy living conditions have led to early death for these intelligent, gentle animals. Today, New York has become the leader in ending this horrible practice. Elephants will no longer be subjected to cruel treatment for our amusement,” said Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who sponsored this bill along with Senator Terrence Murphy.
New York now joins a growing number of cities and states have taken a compassionate stand for animals by passing ordinances prohibiting wild animal acts and the use of cruel training tools. Still, animal advocates are continuing to push for change on the federal level because the mobile nature of circuses makes it difficult for law enforcement and inspectors to follow up on incidents and violations of laws.
TAKE ACTION!
The Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act would end the use of all wild and exotic animals in traveling circuses once and for all, and send a strong message that using some of the earth’s most iconic species for nothing more than our fleeting amusement is no longer acceptable.
You can show your support for animals in entertainment by signing and sharing the petition asking Congress to pass the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act.
For more updates on progress being made around the world, and info on how to help animals in circuses, check out Stop Circus Suffering.
This article was first published by Care2.com on 23 Oct 2017.
We invite you to share your opinion whether performing elephants in circuses should be banned? Please vote and leave your comments at the bottom of this page.
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Editorial Comment: The purpose of this poll is to highlight important wildlife conservation issues and to encourage discussion on ways to stop wildlife crime. By leaving a comment and sharing this post you can help to raise awareness. Thank you for your support.
Definitely. It’s anachronistic. People who still love this should be relocated to caves.
All performing animals should be banned.
Yes, I polled for all that was on the site.
Hell yeah
YES
Signed
Respeto y compasión por todos los animales!!
This is pathetic…a beautiful animal performing cheap tricks..stop supporting this now…
Yes.
Yes
circuses should be banned, aquariums should be banned, most zoos should be banned, petting zoos should be banned…animals are not here for our entertainment or our food or to be experimented on…
yup
They are banned as are all animals in the UK.
thisiswrongwrongwrong…
BRUTAL cruelty and degrading and wrong on every level !! its not living .
All animals should be banned from being part of circus entertainment. Common sense should prevail here
To get elephants to perform these stupid tricks they are tortured into compliance. When they are carted around in these ridiculous circuses they are tightly chained and confined. Their food source is nothing that they would eat in their own natural habitat. For anyone to vote “No” they either need an education or be tortured themselves to realize what horrid and cruel circumstances these elephants are kept.
YES ,,, they need to live their lives in their natural environments.
s
Yes put them in sanucary..and run free
Yes by all means
yes
YES!
Voted YES & shared
Yes
All animal acts should be banned from circus’s – they are barbaric and have no place in entertaining people – the animals suffer terribly with trainers who don’t care how they hurt them in order to get them trained. Animal acts should be recognized for the horror they are for animals and have no place in the circus.
Yes
Elephants are a magnificent matrilineal society who revere and nurture their young ones for several years. These babies, who are stolen from their mothers (many mothers are murdrered during this kidnapping process), are brutalized to obey in fear so that they’ll do inane tricks. Who, in their right mind or heart, would want elephants (or any sentient being) to endure the brutality required to wind up as animal slaves in a traveling circus for the rest of their long and miserable painful lives?
Watching tortured animals (elephants, lions, tigers, etc.) is NOT entertaining!!! END ALL CIRCUSES! Let all animals live the lives they were born to naturally live…not in cages and not as entertainment.
Done and yes these animals belong in the wild NOT entertaining the human population
Yes
animals are not clowns performances should be banned
s
S
Yes Ban all Animals in Circuses
Already s&s leave animals alone
Done.
Röstat JA !
Yes..should of never been allowed..it’s cruel..inhumane. .
Y