Ringling Bros., They're Elephants, not Clowns

This article caught my attention because I was interested in what the circus was doing to hurt elephants, and what people were doing to stop them. The article explained how Ringling Bros. recently reached a settlement with the U.S. Departement of Agriculture over more than a dozen inspections due to reports of "noncompliance with regulations." Some of these regulations include too tight cages, and loosing control of a zebra at one time. Feld Entertainment Inc. hasn't yet admitted to any wrongdoings, and states that it'll have all handlers of animals take "mandatory welfare training." While this is a step in the right direction, for the past decade animal rights activists have been complaining about the handling of the circus's exotic animals, particularly elephants.

The author of this article was against the circus keeping animals, saying "Feld should do more." and that if the company really cared about it's animals, they would stop using them in performances. The author uses some logos in this article, showing the outrageous amount elephants have cost Ringling Bros. in lawsuits, and making some readers wonder why they don't just retire the animals. The author uses pathos when describing the so-called conditions the elephants are forced to endure, backed up by the fact the description he uses is from animal rights groups, people who know what they're talking about. If the facts in this article are true, he definately persuaded me. Making such gentle creatures go through the pains of arthritis and walking long distances is a crime, and should the claims turn out to be true action should be taken immediately to help these animals.

"Ringling Bros. Should Retire Their Elephants."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-ringling-20111202,0,1517748.story