They were serving life behind bars, but now the creatures on the boxes of animal crackers have been freed from their cages.
For more than a century, the packaging of Barnum’s Animals Crackers showed wild animals such as lions and elephants locked in circus boxcars. But the company that makes the sweet and crunchy snack recently redesigned the box. Now the beasts stand tall as they roam free.
Animal rights groups pushed for the redesign. When the crackers first hit store shelves in 1902, circuses were popular in the U.S. Performers traveled with wildlife trained to jump through hoops and carry out other feats.
But people’s views on using animals for entertainment have changed since then. A recent poll found that 69 percent of Americans are concerned about circus animals’ well-being.
Such concerns are part of what led Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to close last year. Although the circus stopped using elephants in its shows in 2015, ticket sales continued to decrease.
The makers of Barnum’s Animals Crackers say the change to the box’s design was long overdue.
“This was the right time,” says a company spokesperson, “[to show] the animals in a natural habitat.”