A Fulton County judge has temporarily blocked the county's ban of the use of bullhooks by elephant trainers days before the circus comes to town.
Commissioner Rob Pitts told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Judge John Goger's order effectively halts the county from enforcing the ban.
The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to Philips Arena in Atlanta Wednesday and runs to Feb. 20.
Pitts said he worried the judge's order could extend to other animal control measures.
Fulton County was the first Georgia jurisdiction to approve a bullhook ban.
Feld Entertainment, which operates the circus, says it's happy to return to Atlanta. The company says the ban conflicts with federal and state law mandating control and maintenance of elephants for the safety of the public.
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