Circus Elephants' LA Appearance May Be Last, As Bullhooks Ban Set To Go Into Effect

LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) — The circus is coming back to town and it may be the last time elephants are part of the greatest show on earth.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey begins a 6-day run at Staples Center Thursday as Los Angeles prepares to ban bullhooks and similar tools used to wrangle the pachyderms.

Stephen Payne with Ringling's parent company Feld Entertainment says an ordinance set to go into effect in 2017 would effectively prevent the circus from using elephants in LA. Venues outside city limits have been considered, but no decisions have been made yet, he said.

Bullhooks would be banned statewide under a bill approved earlier this year by the California Senate. If approved it would go into effect in 2018.

Ringling Bros. will continue to feature exotic animals such as tigers and is introducing Bactrian camels and performing poodles to the production, billed as Circus XTREME, which will also feature an extreme sports display.

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