Law Commons^™

Abuse Under The Big Top: Seeking Legal Protection For Circus Elephants After Aspca V. Ringling Brothers, Emily A. Beverage

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The Asian elephants featured in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus are theoretically guaranteed humane treatment by the Animal Welfare Act, which ostensibly protects animals in exhibition, and by the Endangered Species Act, which covers the treatment of animals designated endangered species, including Asian elephants. Nevertheless, circus elephants have suffered extensive abuse because the agencies responsible for implementing the laws--the United States Departments of Agriculture and the Interior, respectively--have not done so aggressively, and because animal advocates have been unable to compel their enforcement or to establish standing to sue private parties. In 2000, animal welfare organizations, including …