ISSUES

ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY AND ENTERTAINMENT

Choose not to watch any spectacle involving performing animals or patronize any place that exploits animals by imprisoning them or by making them perform.

Circuses and animal shows
The best and most exciting circuses in the world rely exclusively upon human skills, rather than forcing animals to perform demeaning tricks. Animals forced into entertainment, like cycling bears, golfing orang utans and fire-hoop jumping tigers, endure enormous stress and pain. Their training methods include beatings, food deprivation, drugging and surgically removing or impairing their teeth and claws. Often, they are not given adequate housing or care and live in appalling conditions when not performing. In some wildlife parks in China , live rabbits, ducks, pigs and calves are thrown to hungry predator animals like tigers. Choose not to patronize any place that forces animals to perform tricks

Zoos and marine parks
Wild animals that would hunt, forage and roam for miles every day cannot exercise their natural behaviour in captivity. No matter how wonderful the enclosure may look to us, for the animal it is still locked up and has to spend his or her entire life there. Many zoo animals suffer from mental stress, and display abnormal stereotypic behaviour like pacing up and down and constantly licking the metal cage bars. Dolphins and orcas suffer in captivity too, for they are extremely social, intelligent and active animals and cover large distances in the wild. Zoos and marine parks claim to educate the public about animal behaviour, but all they really teach people is that it is acceptable to keep animals in captivity bored, cramped, and far from their natural homes.

List of web resources:
Animals in entertainment: http://aapn.org/entertainmentanimals.html
Circuses: www.circuses.com
The Born Free Foundation: www.bornfree.org.uk
The Captive Animal Protection Society: www.captiveanimals.org
Zoos: www.aapn.org/zoopage.html
Zoocheck Canada: www.zoocheck.com

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