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Ringling Bros. Circus Prepares for Final Bow of Greatest Show on Earth
Last performances are at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, birthplace of the Islanders and Nets (the Nets had played as a different named team in NJ for one year before LI). Both teams are now at Barclays where the last RB B&B NYC performance was in February.
A side note is that when it was built, Barclays made specific design changes to accommodate circus elephants (can't find a cite right now). But to reduce costs it shrank the size of the performance space, making it a poor arena for a hockey rink. What happened? No more elephants, and the Islanders are crammed in.
Regarding the circus - I went a few years ago and wasn't impressed. Set in modern arenas, it loses the earthy feel of the circuses of yore. The venues work well for Cirque du Soleil, but not for "traditional" circuses. RB B&B changed over time and hasn't resembled one's childhood memories for many years. The concept will be missed, the actual look and feel vanished long ago.
@ MFO Member: When I was kid, I would take the train down to Soldier Field and watch Ringling Bros. set up the tents for the circus. One year, I wiped off seats and helped set them up inside the tent, and got a free pass. In those days few if any thought did the animals enjoyed the circus ? The answer, they didn't ! Regards, Ted https://www.paws.org/get-involved/take-action/explore-the-issues/circus-cruelty/
Now to boot, years later there are very few greyhounds to adopt.
Think about if you applied this logic to human beings. There are less abused and abandoned children in the world because activists shut down an organization that was doing that for money. To boot, years later there are very few children to adopt.
The fact that there are less greyhounds to adopt now is a good sign that people who have these dogs truly want to keep them as pets and members of their family. The breeds you see most frequently up for adoption--pit bulls for instance--are the most prone to abuse, neglect and abandonment. So lamenting the lack of greyhounds to adopt makes no sense.
I went to one of these show when I was a kid. Always felt bad for the animals working in the cirrus. These days people are more informed of their treatments. So this is not a surprise of their declining business. Even Sea World have to make changes if they intend to stay in the animal entertainment business.
This is happening under the guise of stopping animal cruelty. Part of our political correctness craze. In Mass efforts were successfully made to clean up abuses in the care of greyhounds at race tracks. It didn't matter. Abolishing dog racing was put on the ballot as a binding a question, and it passed easily. About 1,000 people employed by the race tracks lost their jobs. Now to boot, years later there are very few greyhounds to adopt.
Good intentions do not always do good. And more often than not, "good" for someone is "bad" for someone else.
@Maurice - from the Snopes article: "Officials with Ringling Bros. said that a variety of issues contributed to the decision. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s chief executive officer Kenneth Feld released a statement on the company’s web site:
After much evaluation and deliberation, my family and I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® will hold its final performances in May of this year. Ringling Bros. ticket sales have been declining, but following the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop. This, coupled with high operating costs, made the circus an unsustainable business for the company."
I see declining ticket sales and high operating costs. I suppose you could attach both of those to their inhumane treatment of their star performers to which I can only say good. Last I remember I'm not allowed to beat my employees in order to get them to perform.
Also, the second article which investigated the cruel and inhumane treatment, admitted to by the owner of the enterprise under oath, was by Mother Jones not Mother Earth.
FWIIW, the Ringling Museum of Circus History in Sarasota FL is worth a visit. The Ringling mansion and art museum are also on site as monuments to American capitalism in search of legitimacy through imitation of European civilization.
Declining ticket sales ! Ask a number of young people if they would like to see the circus or play on their smartphones instead. I don't have the numbers , but would go with the latter choice. Derf
Comments
http://abc7ny.com/entertainment/ringling-bros-and-barnum-and-bailey-circus-making-final-stop-in-nyc/1769904/
http://www.barclayscenter.com/events/detail/ringling-bros-and-barnum-bailey-presents-out-of-this-world
A side note is that when it was built, Barclays made specific design changes to accommodate circus elephants (can't find a cite right now). But to reduce costs it shrank the size of the performance space, making it a poor arena for a hockey rink. What happened? No more elephants, and the Islanders are crammed in.
Regarding the circus - I went a few years ago and wasn't impressed. Set in modern arenas, it loses the earthy feel of the circuses of yore. The venues work well for Cirque du Soleil, but not for "traditional" circuses. RB B&B changed over time and hasn't resembled one's childhood memories for many years. The concept will be missed, the actual look and feel vanished long ago.
Did SmartPhones + Social Media not leave enough time for people to enjoy a Circus?
Did people go to Circus only to watch wild animals and it became hard to procure them/bad press/etc. which is why the business just tanked?
Regards,
Ted
https://www.paws.org/get-involved/take-action/explore-the-issues/circus-cruelty/
Sorry but you couldn't be more wrong.
Ringling Brothers to shut down - http://www.snopes.com/2017/01/14/ringling-brothers-circus-to-shut-down/
The Cruelest Show on Earth - http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2011/10/ringling-bros-elephant-abuse?page=1
The fact that there are less greyhounds to adopt now is a good sign that people who have these dogs truly want to keep them as pets and members of their family. The breeds you see most frequently up for adoption--pit bulls for instance--are the most prone to abuse, neglect and abandonment. So lamenting the lack of greyhounds to adopt makes no sense.
"Officials with Ringling Bros. said that a variety of issues contributed to the decision. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s chief executive officer Kenneth Feld released a statement on the company’s web site:
After much evaluation and deliberation, my family and I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® will hold its final performances in May of this year. Ringling Bros. ticket sales have been declining, but following the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop. This, coupled with high operating costs, made the circus an unsustainable business for the company."
I see declining ticket sales and high operating costs. I suppose you could attach both of those to their inhumane treatment of their star performers to which I can only say good. Last I remember I'm not allowed to beat my employees in order to get them to perform.
Also, the second article which investigated the cruel and inhumane treatment, admitted to by the owner of the enterprise under oath, was by Mother Jones not Mother Earth.
Derf
Can't myself think of much of which this cannot be said.