Elephant permit denied for the Colorado Renaissance Festival

Elephants, which have been part of the Colorado Renaissance Festival for decades, will not be at this year’s show when it kicks off June 14.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife denied the permit for elephant shows at the weekslong festival in Larkspur, according to a news release Thursday from PETA, the animal rights organization.

The permit was denied after the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law threatened to sue Parks and Wildlife for going against the 2021 Colorado Traveling Animal Protection Act, PETA said in the release.

The Colorado Traveling Animal Protection Act bans the use of elephants and other specific animals in traveling circus-style shows, the release stated.

“Colorado Parks and Wildlife has finally stepped up and stopped allo