The Atlanta City Council passes an animal control ordinance, but stopped short of banning the controversial bullhook used on elephants.

Council members heard from both sides of the issue including representatives of Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

“There’s nothing inherently wrong with the use, the proper use, of the bullhook to guide the steps of a 10,000 pound and 10 foot tall elephant,” says Crystal Drake, with Feld Entertainment that owns the circus.

One circus handler says without it, elephants could not be in a circus. She compared the bullhook to a bridle for horses or a collar for dogs.

But animal rights activists call the tool barbaric.

“Imagine taking two protractors and putting it in your nose to guide you where it’s pointing,” described one man.

After a failed attempted by Councilwoman Felicia Moore to ban bullhooks specifically, the council voted 13-1 to simply ban the use of any instrument to discipline an animal resulting in the damage, scarring, or breakage of the skin.

The council had to pass its own ordinance after Fulton County passed a ban on bullhooks resulting in a lawsuit by Ringling Bros. against the county. The city currently contracts with Fulton County for animal control services.

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