Elephants are officially banned from Colorado’s Renaissance Festival

If you’ve ever been to Colorado’s Renaissance Festival in Larkspur you’ve likely seen the elephants, maybe even paid to ride one. This summer at the festival will look different as the elephants will be gone.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) said in a press release that Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) made the decision to deny the festival permits after calls and emails from members of PETA and Compassion Works International. Additionally, the University of Denver’s College of Law threatened to take legal action if CPW were to permit elephants at the festival.

“CPW is the agency that reviews applications for and, when appropriate, issues Temporary Exhibitors Licenses, a type of Commercial Wildlife Park License,” reads CPW’s official statement on the matter. “Elephants fall under CPW’s Commercial Wildlife Program, which refers to the use of captive wildlife for educational, commercial, or promotional purposes. The Trunks and Humps application for a Temporary Exhibitors License was denied by CPW because it did not meet the requirements.”

Can I just say that I am totally against taking elephants out of the wild and putting them in these situations… However, the one that already are don’t know anything else. Therefore I worry about the remainder of their life. I could be wrong, but it seems as though we should shutdown the idea of putting new animals in these situations, while letting the ones who have been subjected to this lifestyle continue the only thing they know.