Animals in Entertainment
Lucky, Tina, Jewel, and Queenie: Speak Up for These Elephants
Published July 14, 2009 @ 10:45AM PT
Tina, Jewel, and Queenie are together. Lucky is very much alone. But they are all, actually, in Texas right now. And they all need to be removed from their current miserable circumstances and allowed to live out the rest of their lives at a sanctuary. Tina, Jewel, and Queenie have been enduring a terrible life on the road as circus props for years and are in documented failing health, and Lucky is languishing, alone, in the San Antonio Zoo in her final years.
First, Tina, Jewel, and Queenie:
Deaths in Calgary and Pamplona
Published July 10, 2009 @ 07:11AM PT
One of the runners in Pamplona's annual Running of the Bulls has died. But of course, even though human deaths are the ones that get mainstream media attention, the number of humans injured and killed in this misguided tradition doesn't compare to the number of bulls injured and brutally killed every year, in the running and in the bloody bullring afterward. See Spain-based Igualdad Animal/Animal Equality's brief statement here. Please also listen to the BBC story on the human death and the controversy over the Running of the Bulls, the second part of which features an interview with Igualdad Animal's Sharon Núñez, who did an excellent job speaking for the bulls and countering the position of the practice's supporters.
And in North America, a third animal has now died in the violent Calgary Stampede, Glenn of Liberation BC reports: "So far two horses and have been killed in races in addition to today’s steer at this year’s Stampede, which is Canada’s largest rodeo event." Way to show your toughness, rodeo participants and supporters; I've always admired someone who can efficiently wrestle, slam down, and kill a one-year-old steer--a baby--while cheering crowds look on.
Related posts:
- Living Beings, Not Inanimate Things
- Killing Without Qualms Does Not a Feminist Make
- Rodeo Cowboys Tried to Censor SHARK--And That Will Cost Them 25K
- Stop Coke's Sponsorship of Animal Abuse at Rodeos
Two additional photos after the jump.
Independence Day at the Zoo--Oh, the Irony
Published July 02, 2009 @ 07:51AM PT
Zoos across the nation are encouraging people to come visit this holiday weekend, to celebrate Independence Day by gawking at imprisoned stressed-out animals in unnatural climates and inadequate enclosures. That zoo officials and the media can promote zoos as the place to be this weekend and even promote specific Independence Day-themed events at some zoos is a prime example of the way our society can disconnect from what it is we're doing to animals. Celebrating "independence" by supporting and funding other beings' miserable, bored, anything-but-free existence as sources of our entertainment? The irony is obvious. And how many 4th of July fairs and celebrations this weekend will include petting zoos too? How many parents will, in one moment, try to explain to their children what this holiday represents and what freedom means and then, in the next moment, pull out their wallet to pay for that child to ride on the back of a sad, chained pony?
Please, if your weekend plans are going to include animals, make it a visit to a sanctuary or an hour volunteering at a shelter or time spent with (and, during loud fireworks, spent protecting/comforting) your animal companions.
Edit:
In preparation for the comments that I worry may come streaming in now that this post has been featured in the weekly newsletter, including remarks about how necessary zoos are for "education," I add this:
Two common reasons given to justify the existence of zoos include education and conservation. Some people believe that zoos are good because they educate people about animals in general and also about animal species they would otherwise never get to see. However, Michael Kreger, at the Animal Welfare Information Center, found that the average visitor spends only about thirty seconds to two minutes at a typical exhibit and only reads some of the informational signs about the animals. A number of surveys have shown that the predominant reason people go to the zoo is to be entertained. In one study at Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, only 4% of zoo visitors went there to be educated, and no one specifically stated they went to support conservation. There is very little evidence that much educational information is learned and retained that will help animals in the future. . . .
Zoos, wildlife parks, and aquariums, even the best of them, are mostly examples of human exploitation and domination of animals, just as are circuses, rodeos, and most recreational hunting and fishing. If the gates of zoos were left open, there would be no animals in them after a very short while. . . .
As Vicki Croke concluded: "While the zoo can be an intriguing place to visit, it can be an awfully boring place to live."
-Marc Bekoff, Animals Matter (2007), pp. 96-97, 101
Bekoff, in this thoughtful, easy-to-read book that covers many animal issues, goes into much more depth in preceding and succeeding pages about various zoo issues (including the conservation argument and the horrible conditions in which many animals live). It's a book I recommend, along with his other books (including The Emotional Lives of Animals). Also, I share this note from commenter Olivia:
NYU philosophy professor Dale Jamieson has written two well-thought-through essays on zoos, one or both of which appear in his compendium, Morality's Progress: Essays on Humans, Other Animals, and the Rest of Nature. It's an expensive book, and very academic, but it can be borrowed from a library. He makes many of the points [fellow commenter] Jen raises and concludes that there is no legitimate place for zoos in a truly humane world.
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Photo of bear at San Diego Zoo uploaded by Tombre at stock.xchng
Update: Greyhound Racing at a Crossroads in Rhode Island
Published June 26, 2009 @ 02:49PM PT
UPDATE: Disregard the petition alerts for now. I didn't realize the General Assembly was rushing to finish up a session--it voted late this afternoon or early this evening, and it indeed voted, 61-9, to force the track operators not only to continue racing greyhounds, but to race them even more. I'll update more later. A Providence Journal blog post indicates that after the Senate's final vote (following House-made amendments), the governor plans to veto. Let's hope so.
I wrote a couple days ago that a Rhode Island greyhound track operator had referred to the outdated, cruel practice as a "dying industry." As you may recall, the article from which I quoted explained that the operators of the financially struggling (and bankruptcy-filing) gambling facility were planning to end greyhound racing there. The Twin River facility is home to the only dog track in Rhode Island. Its closure would be the effective end of greyhound racing in this small state.
But now the Rhode Island state government is taking extaordinary steps to force the business to continue racing greyhounds. It's time for people who care about these dogs to speak up and keep that from happening.
RI Race Track: Greyhound Racing a "Dying Industry"
Published June 24, 2009 @ 09:33AM PT
Oh, I can't tell you how good this was to read (and write in a headline). From AP, via Forbes:
UTGR Inc., the operator of Twin River, filed Tuesday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it struggles to repay more than $500 million in debt. The facility will remain open as it restructures its debt, though it hopes to discontinue greyhound racing. . . .
Besides its debts, Twin River has been losing about $10.5 million a year from greyhound racing, said spokeswoman Patti Doyle. It plans to suspend racing after Aug. 8.
"We cannot continue to undertake it," Doyle said. "It's a dying industry" . . .
"I never thought about betting on the dogs," said Ron Audette, a 69-year-old who makes the drive from Fall River, Mass., twice a month to play video slots. "I don't think the dogs make it a big deal."
The faster this industry dies, the better.
Animal Advocacy This Weekend: Elephants and Bake Sales
Published June 18, 2009 @ 01:48PM PT
- This Saturday, June 20, is the first annual International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos, sponsored by In Defense of Animals. Please check to see what demonstrations and events may be taking place in your area: Find an Event. (See also IDA's "Top 10 Reasons to Fight for Animals in Zoos" and the org's main Help Elephants section.) Explains IDA,
This day of outreach and action will bring attention to the tragic effects of keeping elephants in small, impoverished zoo pens where they suffer and die prematurely.
The newest scientific studies document what IDA has been saying all along: zoo conditions and practices have a profound effect on the lives of elephants, drastically shortening their life spans. Simply put, the earth’s largest land mammals just don’t belong in zoos, where lack of space and unnatural conditions lead to a range of problems, including painful foot disease and arthritis, the leading reasons for euthanizing elephants in captivity.
- The Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale (June 20-28) kicks off this weekend too! I wrote about this in more detail in May ("Food Activism: Veg Fund and Vegan Bake Sale"), and my pal Gary Loewenthal, the tireless organizer of this event (and the blogger at Animal Writings and one of the founders of Compassion for Animals), recently guest posted at the Veg Blog, providing more information and updates. Check here to see if one of the 75 (at last count) bake sales is happening near you!
Photo courtesy of In Defense of Animals
[Unrelated note: I'm putting off the promised second Animals in the Blogs roundup 'til this weekend.]
Gymnast Put to Sleep after Breaking Leg in a Career-Ending Accident
Published June 16, 2009 @ 08:42AM PT
My friend Michelle, probably better known to most of you as Change.org's dedicated and intrepid Stop Genocide blogger, sent me a link to the following Onion video this morning, noting that I might appreciate it "in an odd sort of way." Ah, she knows me so well. Smart commentary on the way we treat, think of, and talk about the horses and dogs we force to race, combined with biting sarcasm? Perfect.
