Humane Society, others to pay Feld, Ringling Bros. $15 million in Asian elephant lawsuit
By Charles Schelle, The Bradenton Herald | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The lawsuit stems from a suit a company that the
The settlement already follows
"We hope this settlement payment, and the various court decisions that found against these animal rights activists and their attorneys, will deter individuals and organizations from bringing frivolous litigation like this in the future," said
Feld's circus operations are in
"We're in the process soon of creating an animal compound on property so when we have rehearsals, all the animals can live right there," Payne said.
The 145th edition of the Ringling Bros. circus will start rehearsing there in December, and will last about seven to eight weeks, Payne said.
The case was dismissed in 2001, but an appellate court reinstated the case in 2003 if Rider, of
The settlement also resolves another case Feld filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act for a plaintiff being paid to participate in the original lawsuit and the attorneys trying to cover up those payments. During the original suit, Feld found that the animal rights groups and their lawyers paid Rider
The animal rights groups "sought to conceal the nature, extent and purpose of the payments" to Rider, whose attorney was paying him to participate.
"But with the funds Feld is receiving, we urge the company to combat the killing of tens of thousands of elephants for their ivory,"
Feld also works with a variety of zoos and is working with the Sri Lankan government to "mitigate human conflict" with elephants there, Payne said. Ringling also has the largest and only sustainable herd of Asian elephants in the northern hemisphere, he added.
"We are very proud of our animal welfare program," Payne said.
Because the tainted testimony brought a settlement, the courts never ruled on whether the circus animals were abused.
"The court never ruled on the central question of the abuse of circus elephants in this 14-year-old case, and the groups and their lawyers decided to settle the cases and avoid incurring additional costs," said
"Ringling's owner,
So far, Feld recovered more than
"After winning 14 years of litigation,
___
(c)2014 The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.)
Visit The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.) at www.bradenton.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Wordcount: | 1102 |
Ex-wife and father of slain NBA player Lorenzen Wright settle trust-fund dispute
Meigs Local orders new buses, hires personnel
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News