“Elephants never forget.” Signs like these were directed at circus participants this past week, when animal rights activists protested in response to nine Ringling Bros. shows at the Greensboro Coliseum.

“The questions being asked today are what are the ‘rights’ of animals and what constitutes cruelty,” said Jim Hood, professor of English, who conducted research on animal rights for an FYE class he taught last semester.

Animal activists argue that the stress of performing circus tricks can lead to injury.

“During performances, elephants stand on their hind legs, something they don’t do in the wild,” said Matt Bruce, an assistant campaigner for PETA. “The elephants often develop arthritis, which is the number one reason they are put down.”

Activists are also upset over the state in which the animals travel for the circus. Jeannie Deibel, an animal rights activist, said that there are records stating that Ringling Bros. travels 25,000 miles a year.

“The animals are confined the majority of the time,” Deibel said. “They are social beings but they travel alone … in chains. … They don’t get enough exercise either. In the wild an elephant might walk 30 miles a day.”

Janice Aria, director of animal stewardship at Ringling Bros., spoke to The Guilfordian about the activists’ concerns.

“For their safety, elephants are tethered during travel, just like you would wear a seat-belt while traveling,” Aria said. “The animals can lay down and they can turn 180 degrees.”

Aria also spoke about the nourishment the animals receive.

“The idea of denying food or water to an animal is unthinkable,” Aria said. “We base our training on establishing trust with the animals. The elephants trust us for food, water, safety and care — why would we want to break that trust and possibly endanger ourselves?”

However, animal rights activist Wolfgang Palanz told The Guilfordian that part of the USDA fine against Feld Entertainment, Inc. (Ringling Bros.) was for deprivation of food and water. In November 2011, the USDA fined Feld $270,000 for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, the biggest paid fine in circus history.

According to the USDA, “Feld waived the opportunity for a hearing and agreed to develop and implement annual AWA compliance training for all employees who work with and handle animals, including trainers, handlers, attendants and veterinarians. … All Feld employees who will work with and handle animals must complete the training within 30 days of when they are hired.”

Aria said that the USDA settlement consisted of citations, not violations, from 2007-2011, which mainly dealt with paperwork, the state of their fences, etc.

“Ringling is inspected by the USDA more than any other traveling show,” said Aria. “Yes, this is the biggest fine ever paid, but we are also the biggest traveling show, so it makes sense that there are more inspections and the fines are bigger.”

On Feb. 11, circus attendee Angela Langdon enjoyed her first circus experience.

“I’ve spent most of my life around animals and several years working in a vet office and I noticed that the animals seemed a little bored for doing the same tricks over and over, but they were well-behaved and weren’t treated badly while I was watching,” Langdon said via email.

But Bruce still thinks the circus mistreats its animals. He said that the animals are viewed as a commodity, which means corners are going to be cut. Aria sees it differently, however.

“(People) have totally encroached on wild animals’ territory,” said Aria. “There is no longer a traditional wild, so we can’t return the elephants to the wild. We all have to be stewards of the earth. … Ringling’s main concern is to conserve the Asian Elephant.”

Animal Activist Steven Lanz still believes that the circus commits acts of animal cruelty, though he believes that Ringling is not purposefully being cruel to animals.

“People generally don’t consider how unnatural the circus is for the animals, but if dogs were put in a setting that is that unnatural there would be an outcry for change,” said Lanz.

As Hood pointed out, it seems that what is cruel is still up for debate — chances are it won’t be decided before the next circus comes to town.