An animal rights group has paid $9.3 million to settle two federal court cases over the treatment of circus elephants, CNN reports. Feld Entertainment Inc., which owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is trumpeting the settlement with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) as a big win: “These defendants attempted to destroy our family-owned business with a hired plaintiff who made statements that the court did not believe,” said CEO Kenneth Feld. What’s more, Feld is pressing cases against other animal-rights groups in an attempt to recoup a reported $20 million in legal costs. But the ASPCA isn’t admitting to any wrongdoing, and notes that the court never ruled on its elephant-abuse allegations.
