As you step over the broken peanut shells and popcorn kernels while trying to find your seat, you hear the announcer say, “Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages . . . this is the greatest show on Earth!” The curtain will rise and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will perform yet another astonishing show.

For the past 146 years, the Ringling Bros. Circus has presented the world with countless acts of brilliance and talent. But on May 21, “The Greatest Show on Earth” will drop its curtain for the last time.

The circus has been a target of countless animal rights activists, who criticized Ringling Bros. for their “exploitation of animals.” An immense decline in ticket sales has now forced this famed company to close. CEO Kenneth Feld from Feld Entertainment said high operating costs and decline of ticket sales “made the circus an unsustainable business for the company.”

It is well known that elephants and their dance routines helped make the circus such a sensational show. Animal rights groups, protested for the removal of the circus animals saying it is “inhumane” to make them perform.  In 2016, Ringling Bros. retired their last 11 performing elephants. A variety of other animals, however, are still performing.

Feld Entertainment responded to critics with grace and maturity as they reinforced their love for the animals and made it clear that, although the critics may see the circus as abuse and exploitation, that is, in fact, not the case.  

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Feld acknowledged the big cat trainer Alexander Lacey for his tremendous work with the cats and sated, “In Lacey’s act, you’re not just seeing him work with his lions and tigers, you’re actually hearing him too. He’s on a microphone. If you close your eyes and listen to it, you would think he was talking to a group of children in a classroom. I think that audiences are definitely getting to see a greater connection in the relationship between the trainers and the animals.”  

Lacey then makes his own point in defending the circus and their treatment of animals in saying, “What’s important to me is that the audience sees what a great relationship I have with my animals, how they respect me, love me and respond with me, and how we work together. We don’t try to degrade the animals. We try to show them off and make the public really realize just how intelligent these animals are.”

After responding sensibly and with detailed information about the care of their animals, the Ringling Bros. then proceed to respond to the removal of the elephants. Although much of the circus’ popularity came from them, the company was still determined to give the public an enriched and memorable performance even without the elephants’ remarkable dance routines and performances.

This change inspired the creation of “Out of This World,” a performance the Ringling Bros. describe as a “cosmic voyage as you discover the wonders of gravity-defying acrobats, orbital aerialists, majestic animals, fearless daredevils and humorous clowns.”

With the circus closing in only two short months, many are concerned about the animals and are wondering where they will go. According to Time Magazine, “Officials are working to relocate the tigers as well as several camels, horses, llamas and goats before the curtain comes down on the circus in May. The company-owned creatures will likely be moved to zoos and conservation centers in the U.S., but the plans are not yet final.”

On average, the Ringling Bros. would perform their shows in 115 cities per year. For each performance, the cast count is typically between 250-300 people. Now, however, these cast members will be thrown into the workforce in search of new careers. Johnathan Lee Iverson became the first African American ringmaster of a major U.S. circus in 1999.  He was just 22 years old when he became ringmaster with the Ringling Bros. Circus.

Broadly Magazine conducted an interview with him where Iverson comments that it will be the older employees who will have trouble getting back into the workforce when the circus closes. Since many of them have been with the circus for decades, it may take them longer to find a new career. Iverson also notes that jobs are not the only thing worrying the cast, as most of them live on the circus train. Now, people will not only be out of a job, but out of a home as well.

“Obviously, Feld Entertainment isn’t just kicking us to the curb” Iverson stated as he began explaining that Feld Entertainment is beginning to teach the circus employees how to make resumes and apply for jobs since the majority of them have not done so in many years.

As time goes on, the circus animals’ will find their new homes and the employees will do the same. Although the circus is coming to an end, the compassion that Feld Entertainment has for its employees and the Ringling Bros. Circus will live on. As Kenneth Feld of  USA TODAY wrote,  “Ringling Bros. will always be part of Feld Entertainment, and its spirit will live on in every production and project we do.”