Ringling Brothers' decision to retire their elephants sooner than the initial plan of 2018 made big headlines. However, this seems more like a PR move to clean up their image, because the dark side to this story is that their elephants would merely go to Ringling Brothers' Center for Elephant Conservation. This "conservation" is essentially a breeding farm where elephants are chained, confined to concrete floors, bred and used as test subjects. Even the threat of bullhooks is still very much alive. 

Apparently even a sworn testimony of the head of the CEC said that the "elephants at the facility are chained on concrete for most of the day—and sometimes for weeks on end." This includes pregnant elephants who are chained while giving birth, and baby elephants who have wounds on their legs from being chained. Even the CEC's records show baby elephants with foot or leg problems due to intensive confinement. 

These sweet elephants who have endured so much torment and suffering deserve better. 

Sign the petitions below to urge Ringling Brothers to retire their elephants to a REAL sanctuary! Be sure to spread the word on all your social media platforms.

Click here to sign Change.org petition by Humanity Through Education - "Tell Ringling Brothers to Retire Their Elephants to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee"

Click here to sign petition by PETA - "Urge Ringling Bros. to Pull ALL ANIMALS off the Road and Send Them to True Sanctuaries!"

Click here to sign Change.org petition by Mike Pepe - "Send the Ringling Brothers' Elephants into a TRUE retirement!"