Animals thriving in circus’s care

By Stephen Payne, Vienna, Va.

Saturday, June 21, 2014 | 2:01 a.m.

A recent letter to the editor criticizing Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey contained such a wide range of false allegations it is difficult to refute all of them here.

First and foremost, everyone with Ringling Bros. takes great pride in our animal care. The needs of our elephants, tigers, horses and all the other animals with the “Greatest Show on Earth” always come first. Despite the extremist’s claims, all of our animals receive the highest quality food, access to fresh drinking water, appropriate housing, veterinary care and plenty of exercise.

It’s an insult to the dedicated men and women who spend their lives caring for our animals when these groups make unfounded claims and baseless attacks based on no direct experience.

Beyond just caring for our animals, Ringling Bros. has made a commitment to the preservation of one of the most magnificent yet threatened animals on the planet — the Asian elephant. Through the groundbreaking work done at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation, we are working to save this species for future generations.

A portion of each ticket to a circus performance goes toward those conservation programs. I would challenge the groups who attack Ringling Bros. to show how they are saving any species from extinction. On the contrary, rather than accept what animal rights groups say about Ringling Bros., Las Vegas-area families should come and see for themselves how our elephants and all our animals are thriving in our care.

The writer is vice president of corporate communications for Feld Entertainment.