[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Because of the first female ringmaster?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3514098/posts

[nutmeg]

Nope, one of the main reasons this circus is closing down is because radical animal rights activists forced the main attraction of the circus -- the elephants -- out. Because of so-called "cruelty", as they perceive it. Ringling retired the elephants after 2015, then the activists went after the other circus animals.

I went to this circus as a child, as did my parents and grandparents before me. My husband and I went when it came to Hartford, CT in 2015 specifically to see the elephants for the last time.

I had conversations with several animal handlers before the circus started (they let people wander around looking at the animals behind fences and cages). They were quite upset about the charges of cruelty, and assured me all animals were treated very well. From what I saw up close, all animals looked healthy and content.

Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus is a part of American history. How sad it will be gone forever after May 2017. :-(

[PTBAA]

Damn, just after a woman broke the canvas ceiling.