That’s A Wrap For The Ringling Brothers

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus packed up their tent one last time Sunday night after 146 years.  Many of our childhood memories include going to the circus, are you sad to see it go?

Multiple reasons have contributed to the overall decline of the Ringling Brothers Circus. Ticket sales have been in steady decline for a variety of reasons that include bad press over treatment of animals to Ringlings inability to hold the interest of the younger "tech obsessed" generation.

SeaWorld saw the writing on the wall after the documentary Blackfish exposed the former money making goliath as being nothing more than greedy animal abusers profiting at the expense of the animals and trainers they allegedly cared so much about. Protesters vehemently fought SeaWorld over the gross mistreatment of their whales and in a few years, stocks and attendance plummeted.  SeaWorld stop breeding whales and will no longer be using them in their parks, but they may never recover.  Ringling Brothers took some of their recent cues from SeaWorld eliminating elephants from their performances, making the shows more about acrobatics and comedy, and less about animals.

Clearly the damage had already been done, and after 146 years, the Brothers folded up the big top one last time.  Some will miss the elephants, acrobats, popcorn, and the ring master, but most of us probably agree; It was about time.