US Humane Society and other animal rights groups agree to $16 million settlement with Ringling Brothers

Feld Entertainment, the parent company of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, said this week it has received a nearly $16 million settlement from the U.S. Humane Society and other animal-rights groups that filed a lawsuit against the circus, according to the Associated Press. The original lawsuit was filed by a former elephant trainer in 2000. However, the plaintiff had received about $200,000 from animal right activities. Therefore, a judge ruled he was a “paid plaintiff” and dismissed the lawsuit in 2009, but Feld Entertainment counter sued. The lawsuits in federal court in Washington have dragged on for more than a decade.  Read More