The parent company for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has announced that it will remove Asian elephants from its traveling shows by 2018.
But for a group concerned about the welfare of the mammals, that's not soon enough.
About a dozen people staged a sidewalk protest Wednesday outside Royal Farms Arena as the circus elephants were marched in from Lexington Market.
Hundreds more gathered at the market to watch the annual Lunch with the Elephants, in which the pachyderms feasted on a buffet of elephant-friendly fare.
Lesley Parker-Rollins, 45, demonstrated outside the nearby arena.
"We just came here because we care about animals," the Lutherville woman said. "An elephant does not want to balance on a ball, and we have to wonder: How do you get them to do that?"
Parker-Rollins said the announcement last month by Feld Entertainment that the circus will stop using the elephants in its shows is "obviously major progress, but it's not soon enough for those elephants."
Feld Entertainment has said the 13 elephants now traveling with three circuses will be sent to its Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida. More than 40 elephants are at the center, officials said.
The demonstrators said they were not affiliated with an animal rights organization. Still, they displayed placards they said came from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has targeted Ringling Bros. for its use of elephants. The signs carried such messages as "Ringling Beats Animals."
Feld Entertainment spokesman Stephen Payne said the company was aware of the demonstration.
"Their accusations are completely unfounded," he said. "We have a dedicated team of men and women that spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week caring for our animals, and we are very proud of our animal care."
The circus has been performing at Royal Farms Arena since March 25 and will continue through Sunday.