ASPCA SETTLES CIRCUS LAWSUIT, MUST PAY $9.3 MILLION

The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) must pay Feld Entertainment, parent company of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, $9.3 million to settle a lawsuit the company filed after animal rights activists claimed the circus abused elephants, the Washington Post reported on December 28. That’s the good news.

The bad news? The lawsuit took twelve years and cost the company $22 million in legal fees.

The litigation began in 2000, when a circus worker, backed by several leading animal rights groups, filed a lawsuit claiming that the circus abused elephants. It was later discovered that the worker had been paid more than $190,000 by the animal rights organizations to testify to the alleged abuse.

In 2009, the court ruled in favor of the circus, finding the witness and his testimony "not credible." That’s when Feld Entertainment struck back, suing the animal rights groups and the circus worker for conspiring to harm the company’s business and other violations of law under federal racketeering (RICO) statutes.

ASPCA is the only animal rights group to settle so far. Twelve other groups, including the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the Animal Welfare Institute and The Fund for Animals, are still in litigation.

Feld Entertainment Chairman Kenneth Feld said that the settlement was a vindication for the company and its employees.

“These defendants attempted to destroy our family-owned business with a hired plaintiff who made statements that the court did not believe.  Animal activists have been attacking our family, our company, and our employees for decades because they oppose animals in circuses. 

"This settlement is a vindication not just for the company but also for the dedicated men and women who spend their lives working and caring for all the animals with Ringling Brothers in the face of such targeted, malicious rhetoric,” Feld said.