The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has announced they will start phasing out the elephants until they’re completely left out of the act by 2018.
The announcement was made on Thursday, with the show’s handlers stating growing concerns with the treatment of the elephants as the reason.
The vice president of Ringling’s parent company, Feld Entertainment, Alana Feld, told The AP there’s been a “mood shift” with circus-goers about the elephants being featured in the shows.
“A lot of people aren't comfortable with us touring with our elephants,” she said.
One could argue elephants are the face of these circus shows, with the posters featuring photos of elephants for decades.
President Kenneth Feld also cited many cities starting "anti-elephant" ordinances, which is becoming expensive to fight.
“All of the resources used to fight these things can be put towards the elephants," he said. The elephants that will be pulled from the show will retire at the Center for Elephant Conservation, which will only be accessible to researchers at first but will hopefully expand to the public.
“I want everybody's grandkids to be able to see Asian elephants," he said.