UNITED STATES—The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus is closing down after 146 years of operation. It was announced in a press release from Feld Entertainment, on Monday, January 16. The company has owned the circus for the past 50 years.
High operating costs and a drop in ticket sales “made the circus an unsustainable business for the company,” said CEO Kenneth Feld. He also added that after “the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop.”
The elephants, who have been in the circus’ spotlight for many years with their dance performance routines, which became a staple for the Ringling Bros., were phased of the show due to a high volume of criticism from animal rights groups. The elephants’ final show was in May 2016.
The elephants were sent to Ringling Bros. from the elephant sanctuary, the Ringling. Created in 1995, the Ringling is dedicated to the care and study of Asian elephants on a 200 acre of rural land in Florida.
The full circus cast consists of about 300 people, and includes three performing units. Ringling Bros. circus was founded by five of the seven brothers in the Ringling family in 1884 in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
The Ringling Bros. will perform 30 shows across the United States before its final show which is scheduled for May 2017.
