Animals in Entertainment: The Downfall

Animals are abused and exploited in a variety of forms of "entertainment." One of the main focuses are on the use of animals in circuses; elephants, lions, tigers, and other animals are sentenced to a lifetime of misery in order to provide a few moments of human amusement. Using animals in circuses is an unnecessary and inhumane practice that's harmful to both the animals and the public. Unlike the human performers who choose to work in circuses, exotic animals are forced to take part in the show. They are involuntary actors in a program that degrades them and deprives them of their natural behaviors. Government inspection reports reveal ongoing mistreatment of animals in circuses, as well as failures to provide the basic minimal standards of care required by law. Animals used in circuses have been injured and killed, and have injured and killed humans. The tricks that animals are forced to perform, night after night, are frightening, unnatural, and even painful. “Standard circus industry practice is to use bullhooks and other objects to poke, prod, strike, shock, and hit animals in order to "train" them. Industries also claim that they only train animals to do the types of tricks they might naturally perform in their native habitat. But common sense dictates that elephants in the wild don't eagerly stand on their heads and that tigers don't naturally jump through hoops.” (bornfreeusa.org). Animals in circuses spend about 11 months of the year traveling and spend thousands of hours, are chained are chained in vehicles that lack climate control, and force them to stand or lie in their own waste. Circuses may seem like a friendly form of entertainment, but not many about the horrors that occur behind the scenes. What circuses are really teaching children is that it’s acceptable to exploit and mistreat animals for amusement. While circuses are the main source of animal abuse in entertainment, places such as marine parks, zoos, aquariums, animal race tracks, fighting venues, and move/television programs also exploit animals on a daily basis. We as race get so wrapped up in our own need for entertainment that we forget that animals are being abused regularly for our sake.