I'm torn on this one.
Whenever money and animals become intertwined, there is always suffering involved.
I think it's a huge step backwards in terms of animal welfare.
BUT I also love the circus!
I attend alot of circus performances and only a few times have I seen animals involved.. one was Paulos circus where they use a duck in the show. Also Giffords circus, where they use horses and even a bird of prey - but the animals seem to really enjoy themselves and seem very well looked after.
But then.. I think with elephants it's a bit degrading, it's not the standard of life they are meant to have, it is so far removed.
A news article says one of them is a rescue from Africa where her mother was culled at a game park

So maybe she is better off where she is?
The bottom line is - the animals can't speak for themselves, none of us know exactly how they feel, so as greedy humans we do as we please.