Circus on the way to Rio Rancho, a year late

By Argen Duncan / Rio Rancho Observer Staff Writer
July 3, 2013

The circus is coming to Rio Rancho, about a year later than originally planned, to the delight of some and chagrin of others.
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 8, at Santa Ana Star Center.
Last May, the City of Rio Rancho canceled the show weeks before its five scheduled performances because the city animal ordinance prohibited the circus due to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture over allegations of Animal Welfare Act violations. The circus went to Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque instead.
City Councilor Lonnie Clayton, who sponsored the ordinance amendment that allowed the circus to come this year, said he looked forward to the show.
"I think it will be great entertainment for the whole city," he said.
Clayton said the circus will also create jobs and bring in people to spend money at Rio Rancho's hotels, restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores and so forth.
"I think it's just great that they're back," he said.
Rio Rancho animal advocate Boni Galarneau said she was disappointed the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was coming.
"They don't use humane (animal handling) methods," she said.
The company has paid repeated settlements for animal welfare violations, Galarneau said.
She has "warm fuzzy" memories of going to the circus as a child, she said, but people didn't know or think about how animals were trained then. Now, she said, people choose to look away.
"I won't go. I won't support it," Galarneau said, adding there are other things she can attend with her grandchildren.
The previous city animal ordinance prohibited traveling animal shows from performing in Rio Rancho if they'd had notices of alleged violations, settlements or convictions of violations of federal animal welfare laws in the past five years. The circus' producer, Feld Entertainment, had paid a $270,000 settlement, the largest ever, in November 2011 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture after accusations that the circus was out of compliance with the Animal Welfare Act.
The federal government took no action, and Feld denied wrongdoing, but city ordinance forbade the performance.
The city and Star Center management company Global Spectrum lost more than $28,000 from the cancellation, according to center general manager Gunnar Fox. Stagehands later said they lost work and income they needed.
The contract with Feld Entertainment was signed after the circus' 2009 performance in Rio Rancho, and animal ordinances were changed in 2011.
Last fall, amid much controversy, a four-member majority of the Rio Rancho Governing Body voted to amend animal regulations again, including loosening rules for animal exhibitions. Now, circuses can perform here, as long as they haven't had a USDA conviction for the death or serious injury of an animal in the past three years.
That means Ringling Bros. is in the clear, because settlements don't count against them.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' "Fully Charged: Gold Edition" is the performance scheduled for the Star Center in August.
It features human acts such as comedy, acrobatics, a knife act and a motorcycle globe, as well as performing dogs, horses, camels and elephants, according to the circus website.