By Dana Sanchez,Bradenton (Fla.) Herald

SARASOTA, Fla. – Animal rights activists and shows like Cirque du Soleil could help push traditional tent circuses into the history books. Competition and the high cost of doing business have forced some locally based animal trainers to adapt and base their shows here permanently, reducing the need to take the show on the road.

“The circus as we know it is just about to make its final bow,” said Kay Rosaire, owner of The Big Cat Encounter, Big Cat Habitat and nonprofit Gulfcoast Sanctuary in Sarasota, Fla.

Thousands of circus performers and up to 20 circuses and related companies call Sarasota home. It’s the equivalent of Hollywood to a homegrown industry made famous by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth. The area is now considered a mecca for active and retired circus folk.

Animal rights activists have pushed many circuses to a no-animal format, said Rosaire, a seventh-generation animal trainer who takes in exotic pets like tigers that grew too big for their owners’ comfort.

Rosaire is one of four siblings from an old circus family specializing in training different species including horses, bears and chimps. Her sister, Ellian Rosaire, owns Rosaire’s Riding Academy in Sarasota.

“We came off the road because it was getting harder and harder to get enough work to make it worthwhile,” Ellian Rosaire said. “I’m able to make a living without being in show business. I’m done.”

Ellian Rosaire teaches riding at her riding arena and stable and runs a summer day camp. She also operates a petting zoo with pony rides.

Kay Rosaire still goes on the road, doing a few Shriner circuses each year in addition to putting her cats on television and in movies like Tim Burton’s “Big Fish.”

But she’s about to turn the road tours over to her son.

“The sad thing is that our heritage is from the circus and the circus part is slowly disappearing,” she said.

Circus-animal handlers are governed by the USDA, which enforces the federal Animal Welfare Act. Lisa Wathne, captive-exotic-animals specialist with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, credits public awareness with a decline in circus attendance.

PETA encourages visitors to its Web site to support 26 animal-free circuses around the country and lists 32 circuses that it says failed to meet federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition. The organization’s circus campaign is a multipronged effort that includes asking venues and sponsors not to host circus acts.

“Most if not all circuses that use animals have abysmal records with the USDA,” Wathne said. “Most don’t meet minimum standards. Even if they did, with all we know about wild animals, it’s blatantly apparent that life in the circus can be nothing but misery to them. They spend their lives in extreme confinement, are subject to grueling travel schedules and are trained through fear and pain to perform tricks they never would in the wild.”

Kay Rosaire argues that most animal trainers love their animals and make them part of the family.

“You sit up with them at night when they have the colic,” she said. “People have this idea of abuse going on and its ridiculous. Most exhibitors exceed what’s required.”

Minimum requirements, Wathne said, are that the animals are fed, watered and have enough space to stand up, turn around and lie down.

Animal trainers say they are subject to surprise inspections.

Headquartered in Osprey, Walker Brothers Circus is one of a handful of remaining tent circuses in the country, and one of the few still carrying animals. In its heyday – before television – there were about 40 traveling tent circuses.

Shows like Cirque de Soleil have taken animals out of the equation and made going to the circus unaffordable for many families, said Dale Longmire, a former-clown-turned-agent and marketing manager for Walker Bothers. Longmire is working to try and establish a retirement home for circus performers.

The Walker Brothers circus travels to 235 cities each year, packing up and moving every day, January through October. The show steers clear of larger cities, instead targeting bedroom communities where entertainment is less plentiful.

“Things are changing,” Longmire said. “The circus is different now. One thing we try and keep is clean family entertainment. There’s a traditional need for the circus. Animals are so important to that.”

For each $14 ticket to Walker Brothers circus, an accompanying child gets in free. This contrasts with Cirque du Soleil, where ticket prices at the Bellagio in Las Vegas range from $93.50 for an obstructed view to $150 for lower orchestra seats.

Traditional circus folk agree that Cirque du Soleil, while beautiful, resembles ballet and drama more than circus. “It’s a high-end show, a very fine show,” Longmire said. “The price is not affordable for families.”

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