Police are now threatening the public, claiming they may have to euthanize drug dogs if marijuana becomes legal because they were trained to be anti-social.
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A family has filed a complaint after an officer with the Stow police department shot their cat in the head and tossed it in the trash.
After 146 years of animal performances, clowns, and side shows, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will stop all performances — forever — as of May.
A number of factors contributed to the monumental decision, including decreased attendance, changing public perceptions, and ongoing battles with animal rights groups — multiple instances of abuse by trainers behind the scenes have plagues the world famous performance production company for years.
“There isn’t any one thing,” said Feld Entertainment CEO Kenneth Feld noted, having told startled employees Saturday night after performances in Orlando and Miami. “This has been a very difficult decision for me and for the entire family.”
Circuses have, quite simply, faded from favor — however bittersweet the nostalgic connotations.
“Ringling Bros. has two touring circuses this season and will perform 30 shows between now and May. Major stops include Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn. The final shows will be in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7 and in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21,” the Washington Post reported.
Since the mid-1800s, Barnum and Bailey has been somewhat of a household name, entertaining generations with trained elephants, sequined acrobats, clowns, tigers, and various other shows — but, for decades now, the circus has faced sharp criticism over its treatment of exotic, captive animals and the ethics of holding and training endangered and threatened species.
As the Post further explains, “Phineas Taylor Barnum made a traveling spectacle of animals and human oddities popular, while the five Ringling brothers performed juggling acts and skits from their home base in Wisconsin. Eventually, they merged and the modern circus was born. The sprawling troupes traveled around America by train, wowing audiences with the sheer scale of entertainment and exotic animals.”
But it was the treatment of those exotic animals that began to give Barnum & Bailey an horrific reputation for abuse of species endangered in the wild. A number of videos evidencing force and abuse by trainers that soured the public to circuses and animal performances years ago.
Indeed, there has been a general move away from circuses, zoos, and other entities who rely on animal captivity to make a profit, as the public learns what happens behind the scenes. While some of these businesses might be well-intentioned, ‘training’ wild animals to bend to the will of humans demands a degree of force not deemed acceptable by today’s standards.
While Ringling Bros. wasn’t entirely built around animal performances by any stretch, contention over the issue has grown exponentially in recent years — as it has for many entities in the animal captivity business. Sea World, in fact, has faced similar criticism over orca and dolphin performances seen by many as bending animal nature to the whims of human entertainment — and has been forced to cease captive breeding after public outrage.
Although the Post explains the move toward electronic forms of entertainment — first television, and now smart phones, video games, and computers — greatly reduced the appeal of the circus, that expansion included the wide availability of information, and whistleblower videos exposed the circus as a repeat abuser behind the glitzy scenes.
With diminishing crowds and growing negative perception — and an inability to sustain sufficient ticket sales under increasing overhead — the so-called Greatest Show on Earth has been left little choice but to cease operations.
As Feld sees it, lessening attention spans hindered attendance as well, “The competitor in many ways is time,” he told the Post, speaking of both shortened attention and the entertainment of a bygone era. “It’s a different model that we can’t see how it works in today’s world to justify and maintain an affordable ticket price. So you’ve got all these things working against it.”
He added, “Try getting a 3- or 4-year-old today to sit for 12 minutes.”
In 1967, the Feld family purchased the circus, which had performances just under three hours. Now, shows last two hours and seven minutes — about the length of an average Hollywood movie — but audiences have been increasingly unenthused.
However, these factors don’t compare to growing outrage concerning animal rights and abuse — even among ordinary people unaffiliated with such movements, as has been the case for Sea World and its treatment of killer whales.
Animal performances — forced captivity and physically abusive training methods — no longer slip under the radar with an increasingly aware and concerned public.
“After 36 years of PETA protests,” Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said after the announcement of the circus closure, “which have awoken the world to the plight of animals in captivity, PETA heralds the end of what has been the saddest show on earth for wild animals, and asks all other animal circuses to follow suit, as this is a sign of changing times.”
However, as the Post notes, “In May of 2016, after a long and costly legal battle, the company removed the elephants from the shows and sent the animals to live on a conservation farm in Central Florida. The animals had been the symbol of the circus since Barnum brought an Asian elephant named Jumbo to America in 1882. In 2014, Feld Entertainment won $25.2 million in settlements from groups including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year fight over allegations that circus employees mistreated elephants.
“By the time the elephants were removed, public opinion had shifted somewhat. Los Angeles prohibited the use of bull-hooks by elephant trainers and handlers, as did Oakland, California. The city of Asheville, North Carolina nixed wild or exotic animals from performing in the municipally owned, 7,600-seat U.S. Cellular Center.”
Apparently the elephants represented to the public both a cornerstone of circus magic and the epitome of useless abuse — even earning the snide moniker, the Cruelest Show on Earth — and attendance dropped dramatically. Sea World experienced the same phenomenon over its captivity and performances by orcas, or killer whales.
It would seem, in other words, the public has finally spoken — and private businesses, once hugely profitable, have responded — it matters not how glitzy the package, the manipulation of wild animals for entertainment purposes is no longer acceptable.
Ringling Bros., the once-glorified cornerstone of entertainment in America, will now draw the curtains for the final time.
Dr. Bronner’s, the leading brand of natural soaps known for its iconic labels and “All-One” philosophy as well as a commitment to numerous social and political causes, has pledged more than $500,000 this year to support animal advocacy and animal welfare efforts, the company announced this week.
Funding has gone to animal advocacy organizations that focus specifically on reducing the suffering of farm animals, as well as supporting education efforts and more sustainable food options.
“As a dedicated vegan, I’m proud that my family is committing resources over the long-term to take on the terrible plight of farm animals and to promote more compassionate and sustainable dietary choices,” David Bronner, Cosmic Engagement Officer of Dr. Bronner’s, said in a statement. “One doesn’t have to be vegan to want to reduce the incredible suffering of animals in factory farms and to lower overall meat consumption,” Bronner adds.
According to Dr. Bronner’s, vegetarian advocacy and animal welfare are core focuses for the company, which has also been outspoken in its support of GMO labeling, legalizing hemp farming, drug policy reform, and fair trade.
The Plant Based Food Association and the Good Food Institute are two of the organizations receiving funding from Dr. Bronner’s.
“Dr. Bronner’s gave The Good Food Institute the support we needed out of the gate, while we were still proving concept and before we’d even officially launched the organization, and that gave us the momentum and the confidence we needed to accelerate,” Bruce Friedrich, Executive Director of The Good Food Institute (GFI), said in a statement. “One especially great thing about Dr. Bronner’s support is that the Dr. Bronner’s team act as partners to GFI—they are helping us to think through our strategy as well as the technologies we’re supporting and how they can be as ethical as possible, and they’re joining us in all aspects of our work on behalf of a food system with integrity. We appreciate their financial support, of course, and we also treasure their moral and strategic partnership,” said Friedrich.
The Plant Based Food Association, which also launched this year, is the first trade organization representing the leading producers of plant-based alternatives to traditional meat, eggs, and dairy products.
“We are proud and grateful to have the support of Dr. Bronner’s,” said Michele Simon, Executive Director of Plant Based Foods Association. “Not many donors are willing to take a chance on a new organization, but our missions are clearly aligned, which makes for an exciting partnership,” she noted.
“Having such a strong industry leader as Dr. Bronner’s an early supporter gave us the momentum we needed to reach out to other potential members and sponsors.”
Bronner’s also lent its support to the YES on 3 Campaign in Massachusetts, poised to end the controversial confinement of veal calves, egg-laying hens, and pigs in that state.
“Dr. Bronner’s is a powerful ally in helping wage and win the YES on 3 ballot campaign in Massachusetts. If passed, this will be the most important farm animal protection law in the nation, requiring that all the eggs, veal, and pork sold in the state come from cage-free sources,” said Paul Shapiro, Vice President of Farm Animal Protection at the Humane Society of the United States. “In these ballot campaigns, being right is never enough; we have to have the resources needed to win. And Dr. Bronner’s is a big part of helping make history in Massachusetts with Question 3.”
Other recipients include the forthcoming film version of Jonathan Safran Foer’s book, “Eating Animals”; and organizations including The Humane League, Mercy for Animals, Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, PETA, Our Hen House, Gentle Barn, Poplar Spring and Vine Sanctuary in the United States, as well as the international work of Sea Shepherd and Compassion in World Farming.
“Looking forward, Dr. Bronner’s is particularly keen to help power and coordinate the animal welfare and regenerative organic movements, in their common aim to end the horribly cruel and unsustainable factory farming of animals, fed by monoculture deserts of carbon and water-intensive grain,” adds Bronner. “One-third of the Earth’s land surface is covered in arable farm and range land. Regenerative practices can restore soil health and organic matter relatively quickly, and coupled with a global commitment to eating much less but much more humane and sustainably raised animal products, can also significantly mitigate climate change.”
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