http://www.npr.org/2017/05/21/528982484/...-activists

The demise of the Ringling Brothers circus comes just months after SeaWorld agreed to stop breeding its captive orcas and to move away from its signature theatrical shows. Around the same time, the National Aquarium in Baltimore announced it was closing its dolphin exhibit and would move its dolphins to an ocean sanctuary.

People who never see an elephant or a dolphin aren't likely to give a damn about them.

I remember when I was a kid there were these old men who would just sit on a bench whittling. If anyone mentioned anything that was going on in the world they would just spit and keep on whittling.

I think I understand them completely now.

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We went to a small one ring circus in New Richmond, Ohio on Thursday. Lovely time. Kids got to ride the two elephants at intermission.

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/professi...-zimbabwe/

Another victory for animals (no reason to click on the story because it's basically a click bait story) but basically a big game hunter in Africa died when an elephant he had just shot fell on him and crushed him to death.

Well it's a half-victory for the animals but at least the elephant got his revenge.

In the first seven weeks of 2016, 8 elephants had been killed by TRAINS around the world. There is no wild left on this planet, and without captive breeding, they will go extinct.

Can't stand PETA. Biggest jerks around. Destroy a family institution, that serviced poor and urban communities with ticket prices set to keep it affordable for them to come, see and dream.

So when the elephants left, demand plummeted.

******* PETA!

Screwup generations of children who his cannot go see this circus which has been performing since 1871.

So mad!!

Guess the Animals are heading to the Unemployment office.

(05-22-2017 08:30 AM)NIUAlum90 Wrote:  Can't stand PETA. Biggest jerks around. Destroy a family institution, that serviced poor and urban communities with ticket prices set to keep it affordable for them to come, see and dream.

It's not PETA that killed the circus, it's the amount of entertainment options open to people. The Economics of the circus just don't work today.

That being said:

I'm torn on this one. The life of a circus elephant versus one that's being bred in a proper zoo is night and day in terms of quality. I hate to side with Peta because they are next level cray-cray, but occasionally they stumble onto a nugget of truth.

I'll buck the conservative trend here and admit that I HATE the circus. The animals need to stay in their natural habitats. I'm not a huge fan of zoos but at least they make the attempt to simulate habitats and breed endangered species.

This is a rough one. Ideally the animals would be left alone in their native habitat.

But at the same time, interaction with "charismatic mega-fauna" is about the only reason most of the public gives a damn about wildlife at all.

Its like Steve Irwin catching hell for bothering the animals...but his bothering helped a fair portion of a whole generation tolerate snakes for instance.

Not sure the purists on either side have the complete answer.



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I don't have a problem with this. Many, if not most, of these circus animals are abused and often beaten into submission. As a Shriner I've been criticized for not taking an active role in the Shrine Circus but I am just not entertained by watching animals perform in that environment. JMO. I do recognize it as the end of an era and a goodbye to bygone days.

When I was growing up we couldn't afford to go to the big circus. The circus we went to had stuff like The bearded man, the world's only stripe less zebra, and the worlds tallest midget he was about 5'8". Those were the days!