After Shutting Down In 2017, Ringling Bros. Circus Returns In 2023 Without Animals: Report

ELLENTON, FL — Feld Entertainment, based in Ellenton, is reviving its Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus in 2023, VenuesNow reported.

“In 2023 we will be relaunching Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus,” Juliette Feld Grossman, chief operating officer, said during the VenuesNow Conference in Seattle last week. “You can see it’s emotional and exciting for us as a family. We really feel that Ringling Bros. has incredible relevance to today’s audience.”

There will be one major difference when the Greatest Show on Earth returns: It will be animal-free.

Feld shut down its circus in 2017 after animal activists spoke out about the treatment of elephants and other animals in the show.

Other factors that led to the closure include declining ticket sales and high operating costs, the Bradenton Herald reported.

Grossman said the reincarnation of the circus will focus on human performers, reports said.

"Ringling is back, but this time, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) may just be in attendance, because the company (Feld) has abandoned the chains, cages and whips in favor of hiring only human performers — who are allowed to go home to their families at night,” Rachel Mathews, PETA’s director of captive animal law enforcement, said in a statement. “The animal-free version of Ringling may well inspire any remaining animal-abusing circuses to let aerialists, jugglers, clowns and other talented human performers shine under the big top."

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A spokesperson for Feld told the Bradenton Herald that the company is “in the very initial planning phase” and that an official announcement for the show’s return will be made in 2022.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus dates back to 1871 and was Feld’s longest-running show.

Feld produces many other live shows including “Monster Jam,” “Disney on Ice” and “Sesame Street Live!”