Animal rights group settles lawsuit with Ringling

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/2012/12/29/animal-rights-group-settles-lawsuit-with-ringling/jJsUXsSLvJ9K6hpinKBamN/story.html

An animal rights group will pay Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus $9.3 million to settle a lawsuit the circus filed after courts found that activists paid a former circus worker for his help in claiming the circus abused elephants.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Friday it was not admitting any wrongdoing in settling the lawsuit. The New York-based animal rights group was one of several involved in a lawsuit filed in 2000 against the circus’ owner, Feld Entertainment Inc., claiming elephants were abused. Courts later found that the animal rights activists had paid a former Ringling barn helper involved in the lawsuit at least $190,000, making him ‘‘essentially a paid plaintiff’’ who lacked credibility.