The Elephant-Sized Caveat to a Garden Brothers Circus Show

Over the next two months Garden Brothers Circus is scheduled to hit more than a dozen cities on the East Coast as part of its North American tour. A year after Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey phased out elephants, Garden Brothers Circus is billing its shows as the “last chance to see elephants live.”

But circus goers should know that there’s also the chance that they won’t see any elephants at all, with no refund forthcoming.

TINA.org reader Tiffany C. said she received the ad below in the mail about a week before a Garden Brothers Circus stop in Gainesville, Georgia on March 2. It prominently states that the upcoming show is the “last chance to see a circus with elephants live.” That enticed Tiffany to purchase tickets.

But Tiffany said when she arrived at the show, there were signs stating that there would be no elephant performances that day.

A spokeswoman for Garden Brothers Circus said a Hall County animal control officer who inspected the grounds the day of the show ordered that the elephants not perform. TINA.org has reached out to the officer for his specific reasons.

But terms and conditions on the circus’ website actually permit such broken promises:

Venue and Talent are subject to change without notice and are not grounds for a refund. Anything promised by the promoter that is unfulfilled … is not grounds for a refund.

Remember that when Garden Brothers Circus comes to town.

Find more Terms of Surrender posts here.