Case Study 11.1: Why the Circus No Longer Comes to Town
For 146 years, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus traveled the United States by train, putting on shows featuring acrobats, trapeze artists, clowns, and exotic animals. In 2017, the circus held its last performances after a significant decline in attendance and revenue due to changing public tastes. Shorter attention spans also contributed to its demise. The final blow to the circus came from its decision to eliminate elephant acts. According to a press release from Feld Entertainment, the company that owned the circus, this move led to a “greater than could have been anticipated” decline in ticket sales.1
For decades the American Humane Society, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), and other animal rights groups tried to ban elephant acts in Ringling Brothers performances. Protesters regularly picketed the circus, and for 14 years animal rights groups fought Ringling Brothers in court. Activists claimed that elephant acts were cruel and pointed out that these highly intelligent animals were chained up much of their lives. In 2011, Feld Entertainment was fined $270,000 for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. However, Feld Entertainment successfully fended off the lawsuits, winning a $24 million judgment against the animal rights groups in 2014. Nonetheless, Ringling Brothers agreed to retire all traveling elephants to its Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida that same year. (During this same period, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Asheville, North Carolina, restricted animal acts.)
Animal rights groups cheered the closing of the circus. According to PETA’s president, “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.”2 The CEO of the United States Humane Society said, “I applaud their decision to move away from an institution grounded on inherently inhumane wild animal acts.”3 CEO Kenneth Feld acknowledged that the negative publicity generated by the lawsuits took its toll: “We prevailed in court 100% [but] obviously, in the court of public opinion we didn’t win.”4
Ringling Brothers/Feld Entertainment isn’t the only company that has had to deal with changing societal attitudes toward animals. For decades killer whales were the major attraction at SeaWorld parks in San Diego, Orlando, and San Antonio. However, the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was dragged into the water and drowned by Sea World’s largest breeding male, Tilikum (“Tilly”), galvanized opposition to captive orca programs. The film Blackfish documented the death of Brancheau and whale mistreatment. Matt Damon, Harry Styles, Willie Nelson, and other celebrities joined the protest. Animal activists noted that orcas (which are really large dolphins) never kill humans in the wild. In captivity, young killer whales are separated from their families and are forced to live their lives in small steel or concrete enclosures with little stimulation. Captive orcas display a variety of unhealthy behaviors like banging against pool walls, biting on metal gates and attacking other whales.
SeaWorld vigorously fought attempts to ban its orca program, spending $15 million on an advertising campaign that emphasized the company’s conservation efforts while attacking the truthfulness of Blackfish, calling it “emotionally manipulative.” Despite the campaign, SeaWorld lost half of its stock value and attendance dropped dramatically. Congressman Adam Schiff of California threatened to introduce legislation banning captive orca programs, and the California coastal commission refused to let SeaWorld double the size of its killer whale tanks unless it stopped breeding orcas.
In 2016, SeaWorld agreed to end its breeding program, though the killer whale shows continued. In 2017 it announced that it was discontinuing the theatrical orca programs in its San Diego park, which has seen the largest decline in attendance. SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby said the company listened to customers who no longer wanted to see whales perform at the commands of trainers, and would provide “an all new orca experience focused on the natural environment [of the whales].” He told investors that the company would change its focus from entertainment to conservation, noting: “People love companies that have a purpose, even for-profit companies.”5
Activists aren’t done pushing for animal rights, which may mean additional changes in public attitudes that could threaten the business models of other organizations. Zoos, for example, are coming under increasing pressure to improve living conditions for their animals or shut down.
Discussion Probes
1. Was the circus the “saddest show on earth” because of the way it treated its elephants and other animals?
2. Could the circus have been saved if Ringling Brothers had taken a different approach to its critics?
3. Do you agree with Sea World’s decision to end its captive orca breeding program and theatrical orca performances? Why or why not?
4. Why was SeaWorld unable to resist the pressure to end its orca-breeding program?
5. Based on the issue maturity scale, what is the stage of development of the issue of animal rights?
6. Are zoos in danger? What steps should they take to respond to animal rights activists?