Animal Cruelty in Entertainment Millions and millions of people visit zoos, aquariums, and circuses each year because they love animals or they feel as if the public entertainment facilities are educational (Entertainment). What they do not know is that the facilities are designed to appeal to the visitors’ needs and desires instead of the animals. Animals are not spectacles to gawk at and hold hostage in horrid environments, yet they are still extracted from the wild, separated from their families, kept in filthy steel cages, and forced to perform confusing and unreasonable tricks that even humans cannot master. Every year, thousands and thousands of animals die from having severely emaciated bodies or are killed from the lack of space. …show more content…
The most common way of injury is abuse. The handlers in the circuses go through many painful methods of abusing the animals to train them to do many unnatural tricks, such as standing on balls and jumping over rings of fire (Entertainment). As a result, lions suffer through joint problems, horses suffer with hoof problems, and all the animals have injuries from chains and the beatings of the abusive workers, which has led to severe infections. This shows that training animals for entertainment causes severe damage to the animals, which is brutal and inhumane to the animals and should be stopped. Probably one of the top worst circuses is the Ringling Bros. Thousands and thousands of people visit the circus every year and find it extremely entertaining, but what they do not know is that the elephants go through much suffering to learn the confusing tricks. The Ringling Bros. would “routinely shock elephants with electric prods and gouges and beat them with bull hooks until they screamed” (Miles qtd. in PETA). This is intolerable and very cruel to the animals. Not only are there physical injuries on the animals, but the animals go through a lot of stress, being forced to perform something they would not normally do in the wild. The picture of what the Ringling Bros do gives a vivid image how much the animals have to suffer. Although abuse is the most common way …show more content…
The elephants the zoos used “[are] extracted at great expense and through staggering logistics from their herds inside game reserves in Swaziland” (French 1). It is very overwhelming for the elephants to be taken from the wild, away from their natural environment, because they have to adapt to a completely new habitat. It has also been shown, that many times, too many elephants are extracted from their natural environments and the zoos do not have enough space (2). To solve this problem, some of the elephants have to be killed or sent to a new place. This is inhumane and outrageous to take the life of an innocent animal being. This shows that zoos must be stop because they are doing immoral things to the animals and making them suffer for the zoo keepers’ ridiculous and cruel mistakes. Animals in public entertainment facilities are also deprived of the opportunities to fulfill the full range of their interests and needs that can be offered in the wild (Entertainment). The only time the circus animals are let out of their cages or boxes are when they are forced to perform demeaning tricks (Miles). This shows how the animals clearly do not have freedom and the circus handlers are destroying the life of the animals and preventing them from doing what they would normally do in the wild. In many aquariums as well, the sea animals
...om breeding due the high cost of veterinary care. But they still capture animals from the wild. In fact, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) exposed that approximately half of Ringling’s current performing elephants were seized from their natural habitat. And the Circus doesn’t abuse animals? Justify the blood curdling screams coming from the elephants as they attacked with bull hooks in PETA’s undercover video.
Robert Gonzales, from Bakersfield, seemed like an average, ordinary man. One night however, he was accused of splashing beach on a small dog, and wrapping the dog’s mouth with duct tape. His goal was to discipline the dog. Gonzales was caught and arrested for abusing the animal. Animal abuse is an occurring problem in the U.S. But can be prevented if we take action.
Animal abuse is described generally as any act or omission that causes unnecessary or unreasonable harm to an animal. Animal abuse are vary and can lead to different forms. These may include, tormenting or beating an animal, executing an animal in a harsh way, binding or transporting an animal in a way that is improper for its welfare, neglecting to give fitting living conditions, neglecting to give proper or satisfactory sustenance or water for an animal and neglecting to give suitable treatment to infection or injury (Animal Cruelty, n.d.). In general, for an act to be considered as animal cruelty, it must be a non-accidental, socially unacceptable, enacted on a vertebrate animal, causing pain, suffering and distress or death. (Battle, 2013).
“Animal Entertainment” refers to any animals used to act, perform, or fight for the enjoyment of humans. zoos, circuses, and bullfighting are all examples of animals used for entertainment. While many applaud these firms for putting on a spectacular show, many others argue that the animals are treated unfair. All of these animals are taken out of their natural environment and forced to perform acts not typically in their behavioral range. If one pays close attention at the circus, for example, it is visible how these animals are treated. Trainers threaten tigers with a whip and often hit elephants with metal on their legs. These techniques are inhumane and best explain why animals should not be used for entertainment. The use of animals for entertainment is a form of animal abuse because of the way the
Since the beginning of the modern day circus in the early 20th century millions of Americans have enjoyed the performances by both the people and the animals that perform for our entertainment. However, the audience is blinded by shock and awe of the show from what really happens behind the curtain. Animal cruelty, poor living conditions, and lack of legal regulation scars the animals and becomes very dangerous to the overall health of the animals and those who are around them. The mistreatment of animals in circuses has been occurring for far too long, and new laws need to be implemented in an effort to prevent future acts of cruelty toward these animals.
Elephants are meant to live in the open, free to roam and interact together. Instead they are captive and controlled. Although their natural habitat is unsafe due to poaching and other dangers, organizations are working to stop these immoral acts. At the moment, captive breeding programs are the safest factor for the Asian elephants, but they should not have to. Not only do the elephants deserve to be safe, but also happy in their natural living conditions.
The times did a first of its kind analysis of 390 elephant fatalities at accredited U.S. zoos for the past 50 years (Berens 3). It found that most of the elephants died from injury or disease linked to conditions of their captivity from chronic foot problems caused by standing on hard surfaces to musculoskeletal disorders from inactivity caused by being penned or chained for days and weeks at a time. Of the 321 elephant deaths for which The Times had complete records, half were by age 23, more than a quarter before their expected life spans of 50 to 60 years. For every elephant born in a zoo, on average another two die. At that rate, the 288 elephants inside the 78 U.S. zoos could be “demographically extinct” within the next 50 years because there’ll be too few fertile females left to breed, according to zoo industry research (Berens 4).
In the film, Madagascar, zoos are depicted as a sanctuary in which all the exotic animals are kept safe and are open for the public to view. But many would argue that zoos are inhumane, the caging of animals for our personal entertainment is unjustifiable. Those who believe that zoos are wrong and should be destroyed are animal rights activist; they believe that animals should be allowed to choose their own destiny. Those that believe that zoos are an important part of our lives are scientist and zoologist. This debate has gone on for generations and average folk are stuck in the middle, not knowing which side to stand on. The animals being kept in captivity could not be interviewed; their side of the story will be based on interpretation on their movement and interaction with animals in the zoo and in the wild. Are animals better suited to live in the harsh conditions of the wild or are they better suited to live their lives safely in captivity?
The number of African and Asian elephants in North American zoos is declining as a result of many medical issues. A new disease has recently been discovered that is now hindering elephant’s ability to survive even further. This is a major problem because according to Science Magazine, as of 1997, there are only an estimated 291 Asian elephants and 193 African elephants left in North American zoos. Since this survey was conducted, this number has severely declined. It is now estimated that for every elephant that is born in a zoo another three die.
The life of a circus animal is hard and demanding. It is not an acceptable way of life for an animal. Circuses would quickly lose their appeal if the public were more aware of their mistreatments of these animals. Many circuses do not have much money and as a result the animals suffer from inadequate care. These animals spend most of their time in small cages used for transportation. The Animal Welfare Act provides cage requirements, but many circuses fail to follow this law. Even the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus was cited for 65 violations over a two-year period according to Florence Lambert. When traveling, animals spend hours, even days between sites in confinement..
The article “Animals Used as Entertainment” lists rodeos, circuses, bullfighting, horse racing, cockfighting, dog fighting, and zoos as examples of the many ways animals are used in entertainment. Circuses and zoos are the two most relevant forms of animal mistreatment. Both of these are sources of entertainment for children and adults. Zoos declare that the...
This essay proposes to investigate the ethics of training, and subsequently utilising, circus animals for the purpose of human entertainment. Therefore, the essay will respond to the question “what moral or ethical obligations do humans have in respect of other animals? How can these obligations be filled?” It should be noted that a distinction is made between morals, which are personal standards of behaviour – and ethics – which are moral principles that govern societal behaviour. This essay will focus on ethical obligations. Specifically, the treatment and training methods of circus animals will be researched to ascertain what, if any, physical or psychological discomfort results for the animals. More precisely, investigations will be undertaken to gauge circus animals’ quality of life, and thus arguments that circus animals both enjoy and loathe this treatment will be explored. Additionally, specific cases of cruelty to circus animals, together with various legislation that either allows or prohibits such behaviours, will be examined.
Some aspects of Animal abuse are completely avoidable, the cruelty brings no scientific knowledge, food, or testing. In the entertainment industry “wild and exotic animals are trained through the use of intimidation and physical abuse. Former circus employees have reported seeing animals beaten, whipped, poked with sharp objects and even burned to force them to learn their routines!”(dosomething) Cruelty for entertainment is not a fair trade by any means.
Unfortunately, we are possibly undergoing “the greatest percentage loss of elephants in history” (Ruggiero). Without the proper conservation of elephant survival, we will see a drastic shift in the environment. Due to lack of the lack of management and resources in the conservation programs has led to a further increase in poaching which has triggered to drastic decline in elephant populations. According to the Huffington Post, a reputable news source, it reports, “an estimated 22,000 elephants were illegally killed across Africa in 2012”. In February alone there were as many as “650 elephants killed in a matter of days”
They are pressured into completing harmful acts, as well as maneuvering their bodies in ways that are anomalous. Acts such as these tend to cause distress in the circus animals. Instead of supporting circuses that use animals in their shows, people should support animal-free circuses. Animal-free circuses feature spectacular shows without harming any animals.