Mother Nature Network

Bullhooks used on circus elephants in Atlanta despite county ban
Fulton County banned bullhooks in June, but a superior court judge overruled the ban for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Bullhooks are tools with long handles and a sharp hook at one end that allows trainers to apply varying degrees of pressure to sensitive spots on an elephant’s body. Circuses say the tools are necessary for the safe handling of elephants, but critics say bullhooks are harmful to the animals.