Ringling brothers drops elephants from show
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lowpitchmoravian
- bugler
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Ringling brothers drops elephants from show
If SPCA was so concerned about the Ringling Elephants having to travel by rail and being in circus shows , why aren't they equally concerned about the several Clydsdale horse teams that constantly travel in cramped truck trailors all over the country and put on shows for us silly humans>??????????----I'd say they would be much happier on the open range just like the elephants.????----------Just saw them on TV prancing in a parade ------that's what prompted me to write this.
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bort
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Re: Ringling brothers drops elephants from show
What's next to go, the elephant-mounted police force? 
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tofu
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Re: Ringling brothers drops elephants from show
Jeez - you're really talking about 2 very different animals figuratively and literally. Elephants don't travel easily or well. Rail cars and track width don't easily accomodate them. Off loading them in the event of a crash is almost impossible and their housing conditions at sites have been universally poor.
While Ringling Brothers is trying to pass this off on the animal rights groups it is really much more about the railroads not wanting the hassle. The rails are running at close to capacity and they want to run scheduled manifest trains. Not special freight moves with very special issues. You don't see a lot of box cars these days nor general freights. The issue also has to do with the train cars that the circus themselves use which are ancient. The FRA rules are very strict and change constantly. It is very expensive and sometimes not even possible to update these old cars and meet the changing federally mandated rules.
Then there is the problem nowadays of finding sites with rail access and unloading facilities for something the size and weight of an elephant. Plus many communities don't want the smell or danger of wild animals. The Bulls and Blackhawks annually have to be on the road for 6 weeks or so in Nov/DEC because the circus comes to the United Center every year. They say the aroma from the elephant waste hangs around for weeks afterward inside the building. NIMBY is everywhere.
One of my all time great fun gigs was playing on top of original circus wagons from the Circus World museum up in Baraboo, WI in the annual sponsored by Schlitz Beer "The Great Circus Parade" held in Milwaukee for decades. Being 12 feet up in the air playing in a circus band with a helicon on top of a wagon pulled by 12 horses was a thrill. It was really special when they had the last surviving operating CNW steam engine #1285 owned by Mid-Continent Rail Museum (near Baraboo in North Freedom, WI.) pull the lengthy circus train down from Baraboo through the NW suburbs of Chicago and then back on up to Milwaukee. They had the old wagons, the animals, a couple of giant Mack trucks from the early 1920's, the tent etc. (as they set up a big top and had a circus the week of the parade down by Lake Michigan) and at the end of the train a couple of private passenger cars. They even had the steam calliope operating and playing while the train rolled on by. To say it was "a rolling circus" would be an understatement. People use to come out in droves to see it pass by. I wish they still did it every year!
While Ringling Brothers is trying to pass this off on the animal rights groups it is really much more about the railroads not wanting the hassle. The rails are running at close to capacity and they want to run scheduled manifest trains. Not special freight moves with very special issues. You don't see a lot of box cars these days nor general freights. The issue also has to do with the train cars that the circus themselves use which are ancient. The FRA rules are very strict and change constantly. It is very expensive and sometimes not even possible to update these old cars and meet the changing federally mandated rules.
Then there is the problem nowadays of finding sites with rail access and unloading facilities for something the size and weight of an elephant. Plus many communities don't want the smell or danger of wild animals. The Bulls and Blackhawks annually have to be on the road for 6 weeks or so in Nov/DEC because the circus comes to the United Center every year. They say the aroma from the elephant waste hangs around for weeks afterward inside the building. NIMBY is everywhere.
One of my all time great fun gigs was playing on top of original circus wagons from the Circus World museum up in Baraboo, WI in the annual sponsored by Schlitz Beer "The Great Circus Parade" held in Milwaukee for decades. Being 12 feet up in the air playing in a circus band with a helicon on top of a wagon pulled by 12 horses was a thrill. It was really special when they had the last surviving operating CNW steam engine #1285 owned by Mid-Continent Rail Museum (near Baraboo in North Freedom, WI.) pull the lengthy circus train down from Baraboo through the NW suburbs of Chicago and then back on up to Milwaukee. They had the old wagons, the animals, a couple of giant Mack trucks from the early 1920's, the tent etc. (as they set up a big top and had a circus the week of the parade down by Lake Michigan) and at the end of the train a couple of private passenger cars. They even had the steam calliope operating and playing while the train rolled on by. To say it was "a rolling circus" would be an understatement. People use to come out in droves to see it pass by. I wish they still did it every year!