After plea from PETA, Animal Crackers removes cages from box

(CNN) — After more than a century, the iconic Barnum’s Animal Crackers box has gotten a redesign.

Instead of animals caged in a boxcar on their way to a circus, the animals are now roaming free — side-by-side in a grassland.

Barnum’s Animal Crackers brand has been around for more than 115 years. The change is a result of evolution, says the company that makes the snack.

“Throughout our history, we have leveraged and evolved our classic design to drive awareness around key animal and environmental issues,” Kimberly Fontes, spokeswoman for Nabisco’s parent company Mondelēz International, told CNN.

“To continue to make the brand relevant for years to come, we felt this was the right time for the next evolution in our design, now showing the animals in a natural habitat.”

PETA celebrates the change

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the self-described largest animal rights organization in the world, is taking credit for the new look, which maintains the classic lettering and red branding of the original boxes. It says the redesign was a result of discussions with the company.

“The new box for Barnum’s Animals perfectly reflects that our society no longer tolerates caging and chaining exotic animals for circus shows,” PETA said in a statement.

“No living being exists simply to be a spectacle or to perform tricks for human entertainment, yet all circuses and traveling shows that use animals treat them as mere props, denying them everything that’s natural and important to them.”

The redesign follows the shuttering of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in May 2017, a move that PETA and other animal rights groups celebrated.