I think they’ll be missed, they’re a part of our cultural history and the history of the circus in particular. But it is a positive thing because elephants are too intelligent to be used for a circus. They probably suffer evenwhen they are well treated. It’s just unnatural. Like everything else that we love and then realize is harmful, we will come to accept it as a cultural sort of evolution. We will smile sadly when we see pictures and remember how it used to be. It will be a part of history that might seem strange in the future even though it seems so essential to the circus now. So we will adjust as we always do.
I loved the image of a showgirl riding an elephant when I was a child. (And oh how I loved the image of Reese Witherspoon doing it in Water for Elephants!) But when I became an adult and learned what was harmful about it it made me feel a sort of sadness.
As far as the business of the circus they will replace it with something else and hopefully keep the circus alive. Human connection with animals is something most people seek out. Spectacle is something most people enjoy. How can we combine the 2 things and be sensitive to the health and emotional well-being of the animals concerned?