'It's just time': Hadi Shrine Circus cuts elephants from its show
EVANSVILLE — The Hadi Shrine Circus' decision to retire elephants from its show has nothing to do with protests and everything to do with future events and current circumstances, a circus spokesman said Wednesday.
The Shriners announced during a Wednesday news conference to kick off the event's 90th year celebration that there will be no more elephants beginning with this year's show, scheduled for Thanksgiving Day through Dec. 1 at the Ford Center.
The use of elephants in the three-ring circus has prompted persistent questions and controversy in recent years, with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, mounting protests and some top sponsors ending their financial support for Hadi Shrine circuses.
More: Animal Control greenlights Hadi Shrine Circus as controversy around elephant act remains
But Shriners spokesman Dale Thomas had a ready answer for that.
"No, it doesn't have anything to do with PETA," Thomas said after Wednesday's announcement. "If it had to do with PETA, we could drop all animals."
The loss of sponsors in recent years also "had nothing to do with it," Thomas said.
The Shriners have known for at least two years that this day was coming, Thomas said. The issues are two-fold:
The elephants provided every year by not-for-profit The Endangered Ark Foundation are getting old and thus harder to move outside their sanctuary, Thomas said. More to the point, the Norman, Oklahoma-based organization isn't training any more of its Asian elephants for circus work. The foundation describes itself online as "dedicated to ensuring the future of Asian elephants in North America, providing a retirement ranch for circus elephants, and educating the public about this endangered species."
The Courier & Press could not reach the Endangered Ark Foundation for comment.
The Hadi Shriners can see the day, Thomas said, when the Indiana General Assembly bans the use of elephants in circuses, as neighboring Illinois did in 2017. Then-Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill that made Illinois the first state in the nation to ban the use of elephants in traveling circuses coming to the state.
"I'd much rather go out on our terms than be forced to by someone else," Thomas said. "We made the decision. If we wanted them, they would come back this year. But we made that decision not to have them back. We think it's just time."
This year's circus will maintain some traditional acts, Thomas said, but a new day is coming. The Shriners are intent on modernizing the circus with new acts. There will be a BMX group, a returning Motocross group, and appearances by aerialist Aidan Bryant, who was named last year's America's Got Talent: All-Stars champion.
"AGT has certainly given us a vast group (of entertainers) to choose from," Thomas said Wednesday. "We're continuing to look for other acts. I'm particularly interested because we have this new skatepark, looking for an act that will come in with skateboards."
Organizers of the circus insisted last year that it is so purposefully humane that human performers don't get as good a deal as the roughly 20 elephants, buffalo, camels and ponies on hand.
But PETA and other animal rights advocates have argued that the Hadi Shrine Circus forces animals to perform painful stunts under threats of violence, among other allegations.
Hadi Shrine International has repeatedly denied such allegations.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: 'It's just time': Hadi Shrine Circus cuts elephants from its show
