Animals Used for Entertainment

By: Ava Vitali

I bet you’ve gone somewhere where animals are used for the public’s entertainment, but have you ever considered the conditions of these places? The use of animals for the public’s enjoyment may be more corrupt than it appears, and these places usually keep their animals in uninhabitable conditions. The businesses that use animals for the public’s amusement are usually more concerned about what is appealing to their customers before their animals’ needs, and thousands of animals suffer every day because of it.

         Zoos, marine parks, and circuses are just some examples of places that harm animals for our entertainment. Although there are certainly places that have good intentions and strive to take good care of their animals, unfortunately they’re usually incapable of doing so. Animals deserve to be free and in the wild, and even the most elaborate and vast enclosures can’t come close to meeting the space that is required for these animals to be content. There is even a disorder called ‘zoochosis’ that animals are able to develop if they are caged up for too long. It practically drives them insane, and animals will start pulling out their own fur and feathers. Circuses have similar conditions as zoos, where the animals are caged and chained. However, cruel training tools are frequently used there if animals don’t do the right thing. Trainers use whips, chains, electric prods that shock the animals, and bullhooks, which are devices commonly used on elephants. Bullhooks are long poles with a sharp hook attached to the end, used to dig into the sensitive flesh behind the animal’s ears or ankles. And in SeaWorld parks across the U.S. alone, during the past ten years over sixty bottlenose dolphins have died.

These aren’t the only places where animal mistreatment occurs. Horse and dog races are other sports that many people think are harmless to the animals, but that is not true. In horse racing, the animals are usually forced to start racing at a young age, and they are sometimes drugged to enhance their performance. Lasix, one of the most common drugs used, causes the horses to rapidly lose weight. Thyroxine is another popular drug used in the race industry. It is intended to treat hypothyroidism, but it is often given to horses without any thyroid issues because it also quickens the animals’ metabolism. It is estimated that two horses die on the racetrack each day, and currently almost one dog dies every three days on a Florida Greyhound racetrack. Aside from them dying on the track, usually when dogs or horses stop winning or get too old to participate in these races they will get sent to be killed at slaughterhouses. Around 20,000 dogs are killed each year because they can no longer partake in or have stopped winning races.

Bullfighting and dogfighting are illegal in many areas, yet they still take place and are some of the cruelest and most problematic sports. In bullfighting, bulls and men on horseback enter the arena. The men use lances and drive them into the bull’s neck and back and continue this until they either kill the bull or paralyze the animal. This sport is illegal in the U.S.A., but it takes place in Mexico, Peru, Columbia, and several European countries (mainly Spain). Dogfighting is an illegal underground activity that involves two dogs being released into a pit and fighting to the death. These dogs are bet on, and people gamble on which dog will win. It is estimated by some sources that although dogfights are illegal, an average of 16,000 dogs are killed in them each year.

The most prominent source of animals being used as entertainers is wealthy businesses that gain money mainly off of you paying to see their animals.  So what can we do to stop the mistreatment of animals at these places? You can help by not supporting or going to places where they use animals for our entertainment, and compelling your friends and family to do the same. People need to wake up and look behind the scenes to notice what is really happening to our animals.