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Nelson Details Circus Elephant Investigation

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Associate Professor of Investigative Journalism Deborah Nelson.  Photo by Marissa Parra

Associate Professor of Investigative Journalism Deborah Nelson. Photo by Marissa Parra.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – An historic decision to retire the beloved Ringling Bros. Circus elephants has put the spotlight on a year-long investigation by the Merrill College’s own Associate Professor of Investigative Journalism Deborah Nelson.

The 2011 report for Mother Jones Magazine documented deaths, injuries and illness (TB) in the company’s famous herd. It led to the largest civil penalty against an exhibitor in the history of the Animal Welfare Act.

Screenshot 2015-03-06 17.06.37

Yesterday, Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros. announced they would phase out the elephants by 2018. In a press release, Feld said, “Under the plan, 13 elephants currently traveling with the three Ringling Bros. circus units will be relocated to the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant for Conservation® in Florida by 2018. There they will join the rest of the Ringling Bros. herd of more than 40 elephants.”

Professor Nelson’s investigation was mentioned on Bloomberg TV and she discussed the story today (March 6) on Newsmax TV’s Mid-Point program with host Ed Berliner:

Screen Shot 2015-03-06 at 11.48.21 AMNelson also detailed her findings on PRI’s To the Point program with Warren Olney Thursday, March 6. She said that her investigation was primarily based on records from Ringling Bros. itself (released as the result of unsuccessful lawsuits brought by animal rights groups).

She said that despite claims to the contrary over many decades, the elephants were not “pampered performers” and trained through positive reinforcement. “Starting when they were babies and forcibly dragged from their mothers, they were trained and controlled using physical punishment – bull hooks, whips, electric prods…” Nelson added, “Ringling’s own records showed that these intelligent, highly social creatures that the American public loves, spent most of their lives shackled in chains, cooped up in train cars and being threatened with physical harm.”

Nelson told Olney the USDA had also investigated wide-ranging claims of abuse more than a dozen times and none resulted in any action. “There was a mountain of evidence,” said Nelson, “that the elephants were… injured, ill and more regularly, there were a series of elephants who died under disturbing circumstances.”  She said “None of that moved the agency to take action until about a month after the story came out in Mother Jones (when) they came out and announced they were finally taking action against Ringling Bros.” Nelson said that the $270,000.00 penalty was the biggest in the history of the Animal Welfare Act for the treatment of elephants. But she added it compared to Ringling’s own testimony that the company made more than $100 million per year on the elephant acts.

Nelson pointed to changing public perception of the elephant acts as pushing Ringling Bros. to make their historic decision. “Circus goers who where not activists wrote to Ringling Bros. to say, ‘You don’t need this – your circus is entertaining enough without the animals.'”

In its press release, Feld Entertainment said “As the circus evolves, we can maintain our focus on elephant conservation while allowing our business to continue to meet shifting consumer preferences.”

Nelson told Olney she wondered how long it will be before Ringling is pressured to end its other animal acts.

Listen to the full To the Point Interview:

Professor Nelson is available for interviews on this issue. Please contact her directly at dnelson4@umd.edu. Follow her on Twitter @newshawks.  Bio: http://merrill.umd.edu/directory/deborah-nelson  

 


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