Animals as Entertainment
Taking a trip to see the circus perform, going to the zoo, marine park, or rodeo is a common form of entertainment among families in the world today. For anyone, seeing an animal from the wild up close is very exciting. However, what is not considered are the factors that contribute to the care of these animals in their daily environment to satisfy our selfish entertainment. Animals have been taken from their natural habitats, endured torture to learn tricks, and kept in awful living conditions.
In order for an animal to be exhibited in a zoo, circus, or marine park, they must have been taken from where their natural habitat. The removal of endangered species, such as elephants or tigers can cause drastic changes in the balance of the environment. The decrease in the population size of an endangered species will increase the possibility of them becoming extinct. The opportunities to replenish the species will also become lower because the breeding population is smaller. Taking an animal away from it’s family and others of it’s species can cause psychological damage. It may cause the animal to become vicious so that it will attempt to harm any humans that try to contact it, or cause issues among the other animals it lives with. Another important factor about keeping an animal in captivity from a young age is that it will never be able to be released into the wild again. The animal will have never learned how to hunt, survive on it’s own, or how to interact with other species. Animals being taken from their homes in the wild is the first issue. The next issue is what the animals endure in order to be considered entertainment for us.
Animals do not instinctively know how to perform tricks on their own, they must be taught. The methods used by trainers are extremely inhumane. Whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other tools are used to make the animal perform. They are trained through fear.