WASHINGTON — The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will receive $9.3 million from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals under a settlement resolving protracted litigation over how the circus cared for elephants.

Circus operator Feld Entertainment Inc. and the ASPCA filed dismissal papers in federal court in Washington Friday, ending litigation that had dragged on for more than 10 years, both sides announced.