{"id":199993,"date":"2021-11-22T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=199993"},"modified":"2021-11-22T05:16:12","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T05:16:12","slug":"ringlings-animal-free-comeback-sends-a-powerful-industry-message-cruelty-has-no-place-in-circuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2021\/11\/ringlings-animal-free-comeback-sends-a-powerful-industry-message-cruelty-has-no-place-in-circuses\/","title":{"rendered":"Ringling\u2019s Animal-Free Comeback Sends a Powerful Industry Message: Cruelty Has No Place in Circuses"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>25 Oct 2021<em> &#8211; Nearly five years after <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/features\/ringling\/\" >PETA\u2019s triumph over Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey Circus<\/a>, the shuttered show is reportedly planning its return to the big top\u2014without elephants, tigers, or any other nonconsenting animals! The exciting announcement sends a powerful message to the entire industry, something that PETA\u2019s been saying for decades: Cruelty doesn\u2019t belong in the circus or in any other form of entertainment.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Big news in family show space: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FeldEnt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >@FeldEnt<\/a> is bringing Ringling Bros. Barnum &amp; Bailey Circus back on the road in 2023. No animals as part of the production, says company COO Juliette Feld Grossman. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Venues_Now?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >@Venues_Now<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IAVMWHQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >@IAVMWHQ<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6zrLoghhUj\" >pic.twitter.com\/6zrLoghhUj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Don Muret (@breakground) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/breakground\/status\/1451266542214148112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >October 21, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Feld Entertainment Chair and CEO Kenneth Feld and Chief Operating Officer Juliette Feld Grossman apparently declared the show\u2019s 2023 animal exploitation\u2013free comeback yesterday during a conference in Seattle, with a formal announcement reportedly slated for next year. (Feld Entertainment, which is Ringling Bros.\u2019 parent company, has canceled its federal Animal Welfare Act license.) The announcement comes after PETA wrote to Grossman in 2020, after learning of the circus\u2019s potential return, urging her and the company to employ only willing human talent in future productions.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/venuesnow.com\/feld-entertainment-is-bringing-the-circus-back\/\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">We looked at our company like a 50-year-old startup<\/a>,\u201d Feld told the audience.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Feld\u2019s forward-thinking revolution proves that circuses can dazzle audiences with willing human performers and that no animal need ever be exploited in the process. The company\u2019s other animal-free productions are already brimming with creativity and <em>consenting<\/em> talent that transform arenas into entirely new worlds: They immerse audiences in the jungles of Jurassic World, where they encounter realistic dinosaurs, and they bring superheroes to life in Marvel Universe Live! We\u2019re sure Ringling Bros.\u2019 return\u2014featuring human aerialists, clowns, and daredevils who are free to go home at the end of the day and to choose when they retire\u2014will similarly wow spectators, all while leaving elephants and other animals in peace.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A Sign of Changing Times<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Ringling Bros.\u2019 announcement perfectly reflects our society\u2019s intolerance of the practices of carting elephants and other nonconsenting animals across the country and bullying them into performing stupid tricks.\u00a0Fifty years ago, less-informed audiences may have felt wonder at seeing a tiger jump through a hoop or laughed at a pig spinning on a pedestal. But times and tastes have changed: More people now understand that animals are sensitive individuals who deserve respect and protection. When it comes to today\u2019s savvy consumers, the only wonder is how anyone could still find it entertaining to see an animal caged and taunted with a whip.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Ringling Bros. Could Actually Become \u2018The Greatest Show on Earth\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>From our inception, we were determined to end Ringling\u2019s abuse of animals, because it truly was the <em>saddest<\/em> show on Earth. PETA and our supporters <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/blog\/ringling-largest-protest-new-york-history\/\" >protested<\/a> in nearly every city, published eyewitness footage showing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ECspj0daAlE&amp;t=1s\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">elephants being beaten backstage<\/a>, and worked with <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/videos\/in-his-own-words-a-ringling-elephant-trainer-tells-all\/\" >whistleblowers<\/a> who showed the world that <a href=\"https:\/\/headlines.peta.org\/how-circuses-train-baby-elephants\/\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">baby elephants are tied down and jabbed<\/a> with bullhooks during training. As a result, ticket sales plummeted, cities started <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/features\/animals-in-circuses-banned-cities-states-countries\/\" >banning animal acts<\/a>, and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/blog\/ringling-bros-its-over\/\" >Ringling was forced out<\/a> of the business of exploiting animals.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_840559\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter fbx-instance\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Photo-Feb-23-7-16-19-PM.jpg\" class=\"fbx-link\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"has-caption size-large wp-image-840559 has-caption-early\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Photo-Feb-23-7-16-19-PM-602x351.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Photo-Feb-23-7-16-19-PM-602x351.jpg 602w, https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Photo-Feb-23-7-16-19-PM-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Photo-Feb-23-7-16-19-PM-768x448.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Photo-Feb-23-7-16-19-PM-400x233.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Photo-Feb-23-7-16-19-PM.jpg 1200w\" alt=\"The Return of Ringling: How PETA Helped Shape the Circus\u2019s Animal-Free Comeback\" width=\"602\" height=\"351\" data-lazy-loaded=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of PETA and other groups gathered outside Brooklyn\u2019s Barclays Center on February 23, 2017, in New York City for Ringling Bros. circus\u2019s final animal-abusing opening show, sending the exploitative circus off the best way we know how: with protest signs still held high and tissues in our hands to catch the tears of joy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 2020, White Oak Conservation\u2014an organization certified by the Association of Zoos &amp; Aquariums\u2014took over <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/blog\/ringling-bros-center-elephant-conservation-closes\/\" >Ringling\u2019s former notorious Florida elephant-breeding and -training center<\/a>, and it was announced that all elephants healthy enough to move to White Oak would be transferred to the vast, reputable facility. Earlier this year, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/features\/elephants-recover-from-ringling-in-safe-habitat\/\" >the first group of elephants was indeed moved to White Oak<\/a>, where they live in a herd and spend their days exploring an expansive natural habitat.<\/p>\n<p>______________________________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/peta-logo.png\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-166991\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/peta-logo-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/peta-logo-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/peta-logo.png 224w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a> People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) <em>is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than 6.5 million members and supporters. PETA opposes <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/headlines.peta.org\/end-speciesism\/\" >speciesism<\/a>, a human-supremacist worldview, and focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: in laboratories, in the food industry, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment industry. We also work on a variety of other issues, including the cruel killing of rodents, birds, and other animals who are often considered \u201cpests\u201d as well as cruelty to domesticated animals. PETA works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/blog\/ringling-bros-circus-animal-free-comeback\/?utm_source=PETA::E-Mail&amp;utm_medium=Cultivation&amp;utm_campaign=1121::gen::PETA::E-Mail::GEN::::pfa%20em\" >Go to Original &#8211; peta.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>25 Oct 2021 &#8211; Nearly five years after PETA\u2019s triumph over Ringling Bros. and Barnum &#038; Bailey Circus, they are planning their return without elephants, tigers, or any other nonconsenting animals! This sends a powerful message to the entire industry: Cruelty doesn\u2019t belong in the circus or in any other form of entertainment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":166991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[170],"tags":[1208,786,619,1769,570,2736,840,2000],"class_list":["post-199993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal-rights-vegetarianism","tag-animal-cruelty","tag-animal-justice","tag-animal-rights","tag-animal-slavery","tag-animals","tag-circus-animals","tag-cruelty","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}