PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The curtain has fallen a final time for elephants performing at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
The circus has permanently retired the animals after becoming caught between animal rights activists' concerns and Americans' shifting views.
At a show Sunday in Providence, Rhode Island, Ringmaster Jonathan Lee Iverson told the crowd, "This is a very emotional time for us."
The elephants will live at Ringling's 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida.
