Zoos

Barbara, a former circus elephant, lived the rest of her life at The Elephant Sanctuary.

While some zoos are improving their conditions, yet simply having people present can create stress for wild animals. Zoos sell and borrow animals many times throughout their lives. Many old, sick, or no longer useful “surplus” animals are euthanized or sold. Their fate is often in roadside zoos, exotic meat farms, laboratories, or canned hunting operations.

Marine mammal parks

Catching marine mammals involves killing many other animals. Captured animals can suffer and die from poor water quality, bacterial infections, pneumonia, cardiac arrest, lesions, eye problems, ulcers, abscesses, poisoning, and more. In the wild, many marine mammals travel up to 100 miles per day in complex social groups. Concrete pools cannot meet any of these needs.

Circuses

Numerous circus animals were born in the wild to parents killed in order to capture them. Many trainers threaten, whip, beat, and punish animals. Animals are caged or chained for most of their lives when they are not performing. Many respond to the stress by repetitively weaving and rocking, developing illnesses, and even attacking trainers and onlookers.

Rodeos

Events such as bareback riding, team roping, steer wrestling, and bronc riding are dangerous to animals. Horses, steers, calves, and other animals may endure the pain of a bucking strap, be thrown to the ground, be shocked with electric prods, spurred, and more.

Racing

Fever, who was shockingly emaciated when she was rescued from the racing industry, enjoying her new life as a couch potato. Photo courtesy Greyhound Companions of New Mexico.

Racing is dangerous: horses fall, fracture bones, tear ligaments or muscles, sprain joints, and more. Sometimes, injured horses are illegally drugged. Most horses are sold at auction after a season or two—as pets, trail horses, or until recently, for barbaric slaughter and export for human consumption overseas.

Dog racing attendance is down, yet “farms” breed more than 26,000 greyhounds every year for racing. Facilities stack animals in kennels, with no exercise, toys, or love. Racing injuries include broken legs, broken necks, heart attacks, and more. Some dogs are drugged in order to perform. When their racing days are over, they may live in small kennels as breeders. Many are killed.

Blood sports

Although illegal in every state, there is a huge underground dogfighting industry fueled by selling, breeding, training, and betting on the dogs. About a quarter million dogs are victims of the industry. Some fights can last for hours, and dogs may be drugged. Dogs may die a horrible death during the fight, while survivors can take days to die.

In a cockfight, two specially bred and trained—and often drugged—“gamecocks” are placed in a pit. They often have razor-sharp blades attached to their legs. Birds often suffer from lacerations, eye injuries, punctured lungs, broken bones, and more. Fights often result in at least one death. Cockfighting is illegal in every state except Louisiana.

Film and television

Thousands of animals are also used for the big and small screens, and enforcement of laws protecting these animals is loose. The same dealers who supply zoos, circuses, private collectors, and game farms supply wild animal “actors,” and many are taken from the wild. Movies shot outside of the United States are not penalized if animals are killed on set.

How you can help animals in entertainment:

• Seek out entertainment opportunities that don’t exploit animals.
• When you see films advertised with wild animal “actors,” write to the producers to let them know why you will not go to see their film.
• When you see wild animals used in television commercials, write to the companies behind the ads, telling them you will not buy their products or use their services.
• In order to enjoy wild animals, volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary, go whale watching, or start hiking. It’s good for you and you will see some animals!
• Get active in your local community. Communities like Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Pasadena have prohibited rodeos from coming to their town, and cities in fifteen states have banned the exhibition of wild animals for entertainment.