The End of the Barnum & Bailey Circus

[de officiis]

'Greatest Show on Earth' takes its final bow after 146 years

The clowns, animal acts and acrobats of the storied Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus are taking their final bow at an arena outside New York City on Sunday in the farewell performance of the "Greatest Show on Earth" after nearly 150 years.

Capping a legacy that stretches back to the legendary 19th century showman P.T. Barnum, the circus bids adieu at a series of shows this weekend at newly refurbished Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale on New York's Long Island.

The final show on Sunday evening was a sell-out and a worldwide audience can watch the event via a live stream on the Ringling website.

The finale, announced by parent Feld Entertainment Inc in January, comes a year after the company bowed to pressure from animal rights activists and agreed to stop using elephants in its performances. A featured attraction for more than a century, the elephants had come to symbolize the Ringling Bros brand.

Feld decided to fold up the tent as a result of high operating costs combined with lower ticket sales, it said in a statement at the time. After phasing out the elephants, the owner said, the decline in attendance was "greater than could have been anticipated."

I guess all good things must come to an end, but sad to see them go. It sucked when drive-ins went out, too.

The RBBBC has a great museum down in Sarasota. Well worth the visit if you're in the area.

[Penner]

Yeah, they announced several months ago that they are officially closing shop in May. Personally, I thought that they won't stop to do the last show until like May 31 (the last day of May) but instead they are closing now.

I personally think that all of those [failed] PETA lawsuits basically made them drop their elephant acts and then it just went downhill from there. I mean are clowns really that funny?

[Martin Hash]

We quit going when there were no elephants, and we had gone every year for decades. Now we go to a smaller circus that has elephants & a bear.

p.s. They let themselves get cucked. I was embarrassed for them.

[Penner]

We quit going when there were no elephants, and we had gone every year for decades. Now we go to a smaller circus that has elephants & a bear.

p.s. They let themselves get cucked. I was embarrassed for them.

I believe that they were able to win all of the lawsuits that PETA filed against them but I guess they were just done with the elephants. I mean times are a changing and soon many more circus are going to be closed and/or getting rid of their animal acts.

[Martin Hash]

We won't be going when the animals are gone. Goodbye circuses.

[heydaralon]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... venge.html

Different times lol

[TheReal_ND]

We have circus de curioso in most casinos. What is this wringling circus about anyway?

[heydaralon]

It has never been proven that Elephants can experience pain or have feelings. I think they are like big gray rocks and their wellbeing should take a backseat to the entertainment of crowds. Sometimes the elephants want to be difficult, which is why it is important to have a cattle prod and whip on hand to set them straight. There is also a racial element to consider. Many poor Africans depend on ivory to feed their families, and the West's brutal campaign against the trading of this product will cause many in the Third World to starve. It takes an elephant to feed a village, and we in the air conditioned West should not be so quick to pass judgment on Africans who merely want to support their tribe and help make piano keys.

[KerningChameleon]

It has never been proven that Elephants can experience pain or have feelings. I think they are like big gray rocks and their wellbeing should take a backseat to the entertainment of crowds. Sometimes the elephants want to be difficult, which is why it is important to have a cattle prod and whip on hand to set them straight. There is also a racial element to consider. Many poor Africans depend on ivory to feed their families, and the West's brutal campaign against the trading of this product will cause many in the Third World to starve. It takes an elephant to feed a village, and we in the air conditioned West should not be so quick to pass judgment on Africans who merely want to support their tribe and help make piano keys.

If you want ivory so bad, maybe draw up some plans for sustainable elephant farming. It's not like the meat industry got so big because we just kill wild cows, pigs, fish, and chickens/turkeys without having a plan to replace their numbers every year.

Anyway, I get my animal fix going to the local zoo. STL Zoo has a damn fine sea lion show and underwater aquarium-like tunnel, plus that manta ray petting exhibit for the kids.

[heydaralon]

It has never been proven that Elephants can experience pain or have feelings. I think they are like big gray rocks and their wellbeing should take a backseat to the entertainment of crowds. Sometimes the elephants want to be difficult, which is why it is important to have a cattle prod and whip on hand to set them straight. There is also a racial element to consider. Many poor Africans depend on ivory to feed their families, and the West's brutal campaign against the trading of this product will cause many in the Third World to starve. It takes an elephant to feed a village, and we in the air conditioned West should not be so quick to pass judgment on Africans who merely want to support their tribe and help make piano keys.

If you want ivory so bad, maybe draw up some plans for sustainable elephant farming. It's not like the meat industry got so big because we just kill wild cows, pigs, fish, and chickens/turkeys without having a plan to replace their numbers every year.

Anyway, I get my animal fix going to the local zoo. STL Zoo has a damn fine sea lion show and underwater aquarium-like tunnel, plus that manta ray petting exhibit for the kids.

Africa has a lengthy tradition of hunting animals in the bush and nature preserve, and we need to respect their culture. It would be demeaning to them to force them to raise elephants in a factory farm setting. The elephants can always migrate somewhere else if they have a problem with it.