Missouri's Moolah Circus Elephants to 'Roam the Land' After Retirement

The Moolah Shrine Circus in Missouri said it will retire its performing elephants and that they will now "roam the land."

The circus, which operates in St Louis, said in a statement that the decision to retire its elephants had been "5 years in the making."

"They're going to retire and roam the land," Moolah Shriners Potentate Robby Dirkers told 5 On Your Side.

The elephants live in neighboring state Oklahoma, on 300 acres of land at a facility called the Endangered Ark Foundation. They will remain there and no longer perform in the circus.

The circus contracted the elephants out from another company and didn't own them, 5 On Your Side reported.

The elephants had performed with the circus for 80 years. It was one of the last remaining circuses to still use live animals such as elephants in its shows.

In recent years, the circus has also retired its lions, tigers and bears, it said in a statement.

Animal rights groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA) have repeatedly campaigned for the circus to retire its animals.

In November, PETA protested outside the Moolah Shrine circus with giant inflatable "crying" elephants to do this.

PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman told Newsweek: "It took appeals from more than 60,000 PETA supporters and the bravery of peaceful protesters but PETA is celebrating the news today that the Moolah Shrine Circus is finally giving up its elephant acts. Let this be a lesson to every other holdout Shrine that it's time to stop fist-fighting the future and start switching to animal-free circuses that dazzle audiences with human talent."

Circuses have been using animals to perform since they first began in the 18th century. Since then, the practise has become more and more uncommon as public opinion formed that it was cruel and unnecessary to include them in shows.

There are currently six states that ban the use of wild animals in circuses, comprising Colorado, California, Hawaii, New Jersey, Illinois and New York.

Debbie Leahy, senior strategist for captive wildlife issues at the Humane Society of the United States told Newsweek: "We applaud the Moolah Shriners for making the compassionate decision to stop using elephants in its circus. Their decision is consistent with public opinion and policy makers that abhor the cruel training and prolonged confinement endured by wild animals who are forced to perform in traveling shows."

Leahy said that the techniques used to train the elephants in circuses often include being "beaten with hooked metal rods called "bullhooks" that pierce the elephants' skin in the most sensitive parts of their bodies."

"These animals, who in nature would walk many miles a day, also suffer when they are constantly chained, except for the brief times they are forced to perform," Leahy said.

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