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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His Omnipotence Barack Hussein Obama, declared himself "Pooptator" of all
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Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
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Loretta Fuddy, killed after she "verified" Obama's phony birth
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