There is nothing nice about primates, bears, large cats, and other animals used for television, film, advertisement, props, or exploited as sports mascots. Like most animals used for entertainment, most of these animals are torn away from their mothers as infants and undergo abusive methods and are housed in filthy cages and deprived of everything important to them. Social animals like wolves and elephants often are forced to live alone and suffer psychological stress and anxiety. The Department of Agriculture often cites the trainers for violating the Federal Animal Welfare Act, which establishes only minimal guidelines for care.
We may be like primates in a lot of ways, but one thing is for sure.. no ape ever dreams of being a star on the big screen – for them it is just confusing, torturous, and stressful. Once chimpanzees and orangutans are torn away shortly after birth, trainers often beat the animals with fists, blubs, or even broom handles to get them to perform on que. You all are familiar with the chimpanzee “grim” we often see on the television.. well, that is actually a grimace of fear. Around the age of eight when apes become large and too hard to handle they are dumped at roadside zoos and other substandard facilities where they spend the rest of their lives in tiny cages in confinement all alone. Chimpanzees and orangutans can live up to their 50s and 60s. So, retirement for these beings means a long life of Hell.
After learning about the cruelty these animals are subject to, many agencies have pledged to use animals in their products, which is wonderful. The American Humane Association’s “No Animals Were Harmed” seal of approval is misleading to filmmakers and us, the audience. They do not monitor living conditions of animals off set, during training, or while they are taken away from the mothers. They rarely, if ever file formal complaints when animals are mistreated. Actually, they defend the use of great apes in film and television productions, despite expert testimony indicating that great apes cannot be trained for entertainment without subjecting them to physical abuse. Real swell, huh?
Let’s not forget mascots. Live animal mascots should not be at athletic events for any reason! The screaming fans, noises, and lights are terrifying to them. They don’t know what the Hell is going on. In their natural environment, tigers and lions would quietly roam many miles of territory, hunt, and raise their babies. Bears climb and debark trees, forage on berries, dig through vegetation, build dens, capture small animals or insects, and fish in streams. They aren’t allowed to do any of the things that are natural and important. No training can stop a wild animal from behaving instinctively, nor can the trainers protect themselves or the public. Injury and death are dangers for handlers and spectators. How sad that right here, practically my home town there is Mike the Tiger at Louisiana State University. Costumed human mascots can really pump a team, unlike a frightened animal.
And, what about novelty displays – in an attempt to attract customers, some stores, restaurants, bars, and other establishments imprison wild animals. For example, the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas confines dolphins to concrete tanks and keeps lions, tiger, and leopards behind glass walls for tourists to gawk at. Sharks, stingrays, and other aquatic animals are trapped in a tank beneath a dance station beneath a dance floor in Austin Texas. A gas station here in Louisiana called the Tiger Truck Stop keeps a tiger in a barren concrete cage. Just last month I was going down the interstate with my husband and discovered him. I dared not stop and see.. but saw signs at a gas station. Isn’t that nice? I don’t know what the point is.. just money I suppose. A chimpanzee named Candy has spent decades alone at an amusement park in Louisiana & Ivan, a gorilla captured in Africa as an infant in 1964 have languished for 26 years in a concrete Plexiglas cage as a department store attraction in Washington state before being rescued. These animals live miserable lives and often become sick, depressed, and neurotic.
What about Nativity scenes? Supposed to be depicting a beautiful thing.. ends up so unholy. For example, Brighty, a donkey used in a church scene was savagely beaten by three young men. He ended up being very fearful of people and other donkeys – ruined his life. In Richmond, Virginia, three animals were killed by an attack of dogs used in a Nativity scene….. A camel named Ernie escaped from a scene was struck by a car and killed…. A sheep was once stolen and slaughtered. These smart, sensitive animals deserve better. They are not here for our entertainment. They are a being and have every right to be here and treated well like you and I.
No comments:
Post a Comment