XPost: alt.circus.arts, sac.politics, soc.retirement   
   XPost: fl.general, alt.politics.democrats, alt.politics.economics   
      
   https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/apnewsbreak-ringling-bros-circus-   
   to-close-after-146-years/2017/01/14/672bfe94-dad0-11e6-a0e6-   
   d502d6751bc8_story.html?utm_term=.35f3dc68a575   
      
   ELLENTON, Fla. — After 146 years, the curtain is coming down on “The   
   Greatest Show on Earth.” The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum &   
   Bailey Circus told The Associated Press that the show will close forever   
   in May.   
      
   The iconic American spectacle was felled by a variety of factors, company   
   executives say. Declining attendance combined with high operating costs,   
   along with changing public tastes and prolonged battles with animal rights   
   groups all contributed to its demise.   
      
   “There isn’t any one thing,” said Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld   
   Entertainment. “This has been a very difficult decision for me and for the   
   entire family.”   
      
   The company broke the news to circus employees Saturday night after shows   
   in Orlando and Miami.   
      
   Ringling Bros. has two touring circuses this season and will perform 30   
   shows between now and May. Major stops include Atlanta, Washington,   
   Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn. The final shows will be in Providence,   
   Rhode Island, on May 7 and in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County   
   Coliseum on May 21.   
      
   The circus, with its exotic animals, flashy costumes and death-defying   
   acrobats, has been a staple of entertainment in the United States since   
   the mid-1800s. Phineas Taylor Barnum made a traveling spectacle of animals   
   and human oddities popular, while the five Ringling brothers performed   
   juggling acts and skits from their home base in Wisconsin. Eventually,   
   they merged and the modern circus was born. The sprawling troupes traveled   
   around America by train, wowing audiences with the sheer scale of   
   entertainment and exotic animals.   
      
   By midcentury, the circus was routine, wholesome family entertainment. But   
   as the 20th century went on, kids became less and less enthralled. Movies,   
   television, video games and the internet captured young minds. The circus   
   didn’t have savvy product merchandising tie-ins or Saturday morning   
   cartoons to shore up its image.   
      
   “The competitor in many ways is time,” said Feld, adding that transporting   
   the show by rail and other circus quirks — such as providing a traveling   
   school for performers’ children— are throwbacks to another era. “It’s a   
   different model that we can’t see how it works in today’s world to justify   
   and maintain an affordable ticket price. So you’ve got all these things   
   working against it.”   
      
   The Feld family bought the Ringling circus in 1967. The show was just   
   under 3 hours then. Today, the show is 2 hours and 7 minutes, with the   
   longest segment — a tiger act — clocking in at 12 minutes.   
      
   “Try getting a 3- or 4-year-old today to sit for 12 minutes,” he said.   
      
   Feld and his daughter Juliette Feld, who is the company’s chief operating   
   officer, acknowledged another reality that led to the closing, and it was   
   the one thing that initially drew millions to the show: the animals.   
   Ringling has been targeted by activists who say forcing animals to perform   
   is cruel and unnecessary.   
      
   People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a longtime opponent of the   
   circus, wasted no time in claiming victory.   
      
   “After 36 years of PETA protests, which have awoken the world to the   
   plight of animals in captivity, PETA heralds the end of what has been the   
   saddest show on earth for wild animals, and asks all other animal circuses   
   to follow suit, as this is a sign of changing times,” Ingrid Newkirk,   
   president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote in a   
   statement.   
      
   Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United   
   States, acknowledged the move was “bittersweet” for the Felds but said: “I   
   applaud their decision to move away from an institution grounded on   
   inherently inhumane wild animal acts.”   
      
   In May of 2016, after a long and costly legal battle, the company removed   
   the elephants from the shows and sent the animals to live on a   
   conservation farm in Central Florida. The animals had been the symbol of   
   the circus since Barnum brought an Asian elephant named Jumbo to America   
   in 1882. In 2014, Feld Entertainment won $25.2 million in settlements from   
   groups including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year   
   fight over allegations that circus employees mistreated elephants.   
      
   By the time the elephants were removed, public opinion had shifted   
   somewhat. Los Angeles prohibited the use of bull-hooks by elephant   
   trainers and handlers, as did Oakland, California. The city of Asheville,   
   North Carolina nixed wild or exotic animals from performing in the   
   municipally owned, 7,600-seat U.S. Cellular Center.   
      
   Attendance has been dropping for 10 years, said Juliette Feld, but when   
   the elephants left, there was a “dramatic drop” in ticket sales.   
   Paradoxically, while many said they didn’t want big animals to perform in   
   circuses, many others refused to attend a circus without them.   
      
   “We know now that one of the major reasons people came to Ringling Bros.   
   was getting to see elephants,” she said. “We stand by that decision. We   
   know it was the right decision. This was what audiences wanted to see and   
   it definitely played a major role.”   
      
   The Felds say their existing animals — lions, tigers, camels, donkeys,   
   alpacas, kangaroos and llamas — will go to suitable homes. Juliette Feld   
   says the company will continue operating the Center for Elephant   
   Conservation.   
      
   Some 500 people perform and work on both touring shows. A handful will be   
   placed in positions with the company’s other, profitable shows — it owns   
   Monster Jam, Disney on Ice and Marvel Live, among other things — but most   
   will be out of a job. Juliette Feld said the company will help employees   
   with job placement and resumes. In some cases where a circus employee   
   lives on the tour rail car (the circus travels by train), the company will   
   also help with housing relocation.   
      
   Kenneth Feld became visibly emotional while discussing the decision with a   
   reporter. He said over the next four months, fans will be able to say   
   goodbye at the remaining shows.   
      
   In recent years, Ringling Bros. tried to remain relevant, hiring its first   
   African American ringmaster, then its first female ringmaster, and also   
   launching an interactive app. It added elements from its other, popular   
   shows, such as motorbike daredevils and ice skaters. But it seemingly was   
   no match for Pokemon Go and a generation of kids who desire familiar   
   brands and YouTube celebrities.   
      
   “We tried all these different things to see what would work, and supported   
   it with a lot of funding as well, and we weren’t successful in finding the   
   solution,” said Kenneth Feld.   
      
   Asshole Eric Mills   
      
   EricMills1   
   10:09 PM PST   
   Hallelujah! 'Bout damned time. Kudos to all who helped bring this about   
   after decades of effort. There should be state and federal laws banning   
   the use of ALL wild animals in traveling circuses and carnivals.   
   Legislation is in order. Twenty-seven countries around the world have such   
   laws, including Colombia, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico, The Netherlands,   
   even Iran. Time for the U.S. to jump on the humane band wagon.   
      
   Now let's do the same for rodeos, another inherently cruel   
   "entertainment." For most of the exploited and abused animals therein,   
   rodeo is merely a detour en route to the slaughterhouse. It needs to stop.   
      
   Sincerely,   
   Eric Mills, coordinator   
   ACTION FOR ANIMALS   
   Oakland   
      
   https://www.facebook.com/EricMillsAFA/   
      
   @EricMillsAFA   
      
   https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-mills-32725520   
      
   Eric Mills   
   Coordinator   
   ACTION FOR ANIMALS   
   P.O. Box 20184   
   Oakland, CA  94620   
      
   https://www.blogger.com/profile/03693554713784451459   
      
      
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