Feld Entertainment to End Ringling Bros. Circus Act By June 2017 - National Humane Education Society

Paws Up!

To Feld Entertainment for putting an end to Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, which has been using rare and endangered species in traveling entertainment acts for decades. They retired the elephants early in May 2016.

According to a recent press release, the company Feld Entertainment will be discontinuing all performances by Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus. While thousands have been entertained by the spectacle of the circus over the past century and a half, the delight of audiences has come at the cost of some of the world’s most majestic animals. Initially taken from the wild, and in modern times bred in captivity, wild endangered species such as the Siberian tiger, African lion, and Asian elephant were carted from one state to the next to perform tricks for the delight of paying crowds. In the United States, to this day, the circus animals are protected by a single federal law known as the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Requirements for standards of care under the AWA are scant, but nonetheless — Ringling Bros. has been cited by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for violating even these minimal provisions. Ringling Bros. was most recently cited for serious animal welfare violations, including the inhumane treatment of a lame elephant in 2011.  As a result, some cities and entertainment venues across the country have banned animal circuses.

Even wild animal species born to captive parents are still wild. They are not domesticated animals, and their instincts to roam, socialize, forage, hunt, and defend remain innate. Sadly, wild animals entrapped within the circus do not have opportunities to express these natural behaviors. This obviously contributes to a low quality of life for the animals — but can put humans at risk too. In October 2016, a “tiger trainer” — and former employee of Ringling Bros.– was ordering an adult tiger named Ghandi to perform a trick for a group of 33 schoolchildren at a fair in Florida. Instead of obeying her command, Ghandi begins clawing at the trainer. The show was ended – but not before the tiger receives a vicious beating from another “trainer” in front of onlooking children.

Take action.  Never attend an animal circus, roadside zoo, or traveling animal exhibit.