Center for Elephant Conservation

The CEC is solely sponsored by Feld Entertainment, the holding company which operated the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus[1] from the 1960s until 2017.

Parent company Feld Entertainment publicizes the facility as a gathering place for researchers of elephant behavior and conservation.

Photos of the facility and staff training newborn elephants became public after the death of a former Conservation Center employee, Sam Haddock.

[3] In 2014, Feld Entertainment won $25.2 million in settlements from a number of animal-rights groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year legal battle over unproven allegations that Ringling circus employees mistreated elephants.

[8] The court did not rule on the merits of the case, nor the video footage documenting severe hooking of elephants on Ringling show units.

[9] Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey publicists claim victory and have focused their defense on questioning the motives of whistle-blower Tom Rider and his relationship to animal welfare groups.