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One of largest circus companies in USA will soon no longer have performing elephants as part of its shows. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus said it would stop using elephants by 2018. All 43 animals it currently uses will be moved to animal conservation centre in Florida. There, giant creatures will live out their retirement. decision came after lot of protests from public. One hundred years ago, people thought it was OK for animals to perform to please humans. However, world is different today and people are more worried about lives of animals. The circus will continue to use other animals, such as camels, dogs, horses, lions and tigers.

Circuses have been criticised for many years by animal rights activists and public who care about treatment of animals. Jessica Johnson, spokeswoman for PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) explained how elephants have bad life in circuses. She said: "Many of elephants are painfully arthritic, and many have tuberculosis, so their retirement day needs to come now." Many cities and towns in USA have banned use of elephants for entertainment. This has made it hard for circuses to travel around country. Owners of the circus company said decision to stop using elephants was not easy but understood that: "There's been somewhat of mood shift among our consumers."