Elephants in a traveling animal show may not perform at the Colorado Renaissance Festival this year, after Colorado Parks and Wildlife refused to issue a permit.
State officials denied the permit for the elephant exhibitor, Trunks and Humps because its application did not meet the requirements for the state agency’s commercial wildlife program, which allows the use of captive wildlife for educational, commercial or promotional purposes, a spokesperson for CPW said Friday.
But according to Jim Paradise, vice president of the Larkspur festival, the Renaissance Festival is still deciding whether to bring the elephants to the event this year.
“The Renaissance Festival has worked and continues to work with Trunks and Humps in its ongoing and successful efforts in educating people on the history, research and care of elephants,” Paradise said in a statement after learning the state denied the permit.
“The issuance of permits by the state for the years 2022-2024 is proof positive that both the Renaissance Festival and Trunks and Humps are fulfilling the above mission.”
Organizers of the festival plan to work with the state in the 2025 permitting process, he said, and “look forward to having the elephants back” this season.
The state agency’s decision to not issue a permit comes after animal rights attorneys with the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law threatened to sue CPW over the issue.
Attorneys claimed that Trunks and Humps’ traveling animal act was solely for entertainment purposes, which would disqualify the show as an educational program under Colorado law.
The legislation, passed in 2021, prohibits the use of elephants, primates, bears, dolphins and other animals in traveling animal acts. A person who violates the act would be charged with a misdemeanor and could face a fine ranging from $250 to $1,000 per violation.
Paradise said since the law was passed, the Renaissance Festival has not offered elephant rides.
“Denying this permit was both the legally correct and moral decision,” Justin Marceau, DU law professor and director of the AALDP, said in a news release. “Colorado has admirably outlawed the degrading, abusive use of elephants and other animals in cruel traveling circuses. These animals deserve to be treated with dignity, not dragged from city to city and forced to perform tricks for our entertainment.”
An elephant behavior expert from Cornell University, who told the AALDP that the show forces the animals to participate in unnatural behaviors, said denying the permit was the right thing to do.
“The decision follows the science and upholds Colorado law by recognizing that the tricks that Trunks and Humps forces elephants to perform under threat of a bull hook are not natural behaviors,” Michael Pardo, an elephant behaviorist from the university said in a statement sent along with the news release. “This is a win for both animal welfare and the rule of law.”
The Colorado Renaissance Festival typically attracts thousands of people to Larkspur each summer. According to its website, the elephant show was “an educational experience” that teaches attendees about the animals’ care and conservation.
UPDATE: This story was updated at 5:17 p.m. on Friday, June 6, 2025, to include a statement from Jim Paradise, the vice president of Colorado’s Renaissance Festival sent to The Colorado Sun at about 5 p.m.