Use of Animals in Entertainment - Case Study Example

Use of Animals in Entertainment Introduction Entertainment is a multi billion dollar industry that employs as many people as the diversity in talent would permit. From music, film to competitive games, people identify their talents and capitalize on them to offer entertainment to others who would pay for the fun offered. The monetary gain from entertainment comes from revenues accrued through gate collections or even returns on sales of music or film (Spedding 30). The entertainment industry is viewed as an independent sector whose contribution to any economy can not be overlooked. Governments, in turn, offer support to the industry either through legislative procedures or by creating the appropriate environment to promote such performances (Bradley 144) However, there is a touch to this entertainment industry that has drawn the attention of rights activists all over the world and that is the use of animals in entertainment. Animals have been used by humans to perform various roles since historical times. In fact, in most mythical renditions or oral narrations, man has been mentioned to have domesticated animals from time immemorial. One of the animals is the dog. A dog is an animal that is considered man’s best friend. Over the years, the dog has been used by man for various activities including security as well as to run errands. This has been in exchange for accommodation and food. This is not to mean that left on its own, a dog would never take care of itself. Humans are conscious animals. The ability of man to have a subconscious mind sets him apart from the other animals. In domesticating these animals, the concern is usually on their welfare. This has given rise to animal rights lobby groups whose concerns are how people relate to animals in their quest for pets, social creatures, and entertainment (Webster 56). Therefore, any form of mistreatment on the animals is usually dealt with through the legal stipulations in the law. From early history, man has always used animals to offer entertainment. For instance, dog races in America dates back to the seventieth century. However, as humans increase in number, the forms of entertainment and creativity have also evolved in tandem. Modern day entertainment involving animals like dogs is christened a circus. This is a type of entertainment in which both people and animals are brought to a stage and made to perform stunts that are not commonly witnessed. The audience in attendance usually pays money to attend such shows or witness the performances (Michael 99). As the games grew in popularity, so did the concern of what it takes to train an animal. For instance, it is a herculean task to train a crocodile to dance in view of entertaining an audience whose anticipations is at times beyond what is real or possible. It should be noted that some of these animals are wild and may pose real threat to either the performer or even the people in attendance. In most instances, successful training of such animals is usually viewed as going against normative trends since the animals are subjected to unusual ways of life. For such a wild animal to finally show up carrying an enemy on its back, then this would translate into nature being imbalanced. It is viewed as a form of cruelty on the part of humans to imbalance nature this much. In the training grounds, these animals are handled aggressively so as to learn to obey commands. Being the animals that can not speak to humans, they therefore would express their feelings verbally. The overriding assumption is that such animals may be viewed as having been subjected to inhuman conditions. Furthermore, wild animals are naturally used to unlimited space and freedom. Consequently, when these animals are captured and confined to small zoo like spaces while awaiting training, this amounts to great disregard to the value of the lives of these animals. In the confinements, the animals get their food in rationed portions. Wild animals are used to the freedom of eating as sporadically as provided for by nature thus when humans come to interfere with that, it shows the extent to which man interferes with the natural ecological set up within his environments. Man has been associated domestically with the dog and the cat for so long. However, this relationship has always had some instances of disregard on the life of the animals. Different people, based on the affection they have for a given animal for whichever reason, would always love the animal and would try to have the best animal in terms of health and level of training. The question that comes to mind is that do these people really care about the fate of the animals as they perceive? This is debatable since if the lovers of the animals were in deed true to their calling, they would vouch for the welfare of the animals which would be better in the wild than the zoos and circus that characterize the lives of caged animals. In addition, to get the desired species of animals used in entertainment, humans usually oppose nature by going against the will of these animals through incidences like monitored behavioral studies. These are just but some examples of the type of cruelty that man puts animals to in the name of entertainment. Zoos and Aquariums Animals of different species are usually captured or confined to limited spaces in reserved parks to be displayed for viewing. The viewing of animals in zoos is perceived as a past time. Fish and other marine life are also captured and kept in small transparent glass cubes for viewing. People pay to get to the parks and watch the enslaved animals while very few are usually concerned about the welfare of the animals. In these small confinements, the animals cannot move freely to interact with others, the provision to mate is ruled out, and the food is usually rationed. In addition, some of these animals do not fancy coming into contact with humans but they are forced to constantly interact with humans. Without knowing, this causes psychological stress on them. Movie and Television Sets In shooting films, some scenes are shot in the wilderness and the script, at times, includes the actors interacting with the wild animals. In some cases, the script dictates that the actor kills an animal so as to pave way for the action. Some of these are killed without much care. Even if the animals are not literally killed, airing scenes showing violence or aggression against animals is unacceptable (Council of Europe 34). The discovery channel runs a number of documentaries shot in the wilderness with animals as the key subjects. In carrying out some of their studies, they capture animals and put on them gadgets to track or monitor them. They could be taking care to ensure that the animal do not die but do they ever get to find out whether the animal at the time of operation was prepared to face the pain it is forced to undergo? Animals used in the circus spend most of their time either training or travelling. The circuses are held in far away places. For instance, at one time in a month they would be in Mexico while their other destination might even be in Australia within the same month. Such constant movements pay little attention to the welfare of the animals. A business man who is interested in making money would see to it that the animals get there. They travel through different climatic conditions, cover long distance walking, and when they are not performing, such animals would always be in their cages (Catalano 87). This is done to an animal which is a creature who is not used to limited freedom. In spite of the objective being to entertain man, such acts are unacceptable. Bull fighting, cockfighting, and dog fighting are preferred sources of entertainment to some people with others rearing some of these animals purposely for the fights. Some of the fights result into deaths that go unnoticed. Using horses to participate in some sports such as polo and horse races are activities that humans put animals through selfishly for their own good. It is accepted to use an animal as is evidenced in the books of history. However, the use of animals in entertainment must be regulated with the rights of these animals being given priority. With the introduction of pornography and humans indulging in grotesque activities with animals, it is even more necessary for regulations on animal rights be made stiffer (Bradley 12). In conclusion, a sovereign state promises freedom as the most basic human right. This is a right that is not only necessary for humans but the animals within the state too. There are better ways of deriving fun from animals (Browning 20). This would include game drives and sight seeing. No animal should be confined to a dark unlighted cell to parade itself to people for their own fun. Such entertainment forms such as circuses should be banned and discouraged just as some countries such as India have taken the initiative to do. 1. A caged tiger in a zoo Report To determine the consequences of genetically induced reproduction on dogs and cats: a case study of the state of Illinois, US. Planning The project was carried out from 1st November, 2011 for five months till 30th March, 2012 which is the due date of submission. November, 2011 For the first month of the project’s initiation, no task having relevance to the project was completed. December 2011 The first task of the project was completed by 22nd December, 2011. The second task was completed by 29th December same year. For the month of December, 2011, two tasks were completed. January 2012 The plan to start task 3 of the project was on the second day of the month. By 5th, task 3 had been successfully completed. Task 4 was completed on 21st after planning on 16th. For the month, only two tasks were completed after plans to start other tasks were not met. March 2012 The tasks, m1 and m2, were instigated in this month. M4 was started on the 15th day of the month. This is a report of a three months study carried out in the state of Illinois, US. The main methods of data collection were observation, interviews and the use of questionnaires Introduction Dogs and cats are some of the most preferred pets by humans. There are different species that are loved by different people and, thus, to meet the demand of people buying the pets, there is a tendency of people cross breeding them to come up with better breeds. Findings In the study, it was observed that the state harbors more of the Pomeranian than any other species among dog lovers with an average of three out of every five people having the breed as their pet. People walked the street with their pets, some dragging them along using neck straps while others carried them below their arm pits. This applied for both the dogs and cats. The state reflects a great imbalance in nature with the indigenous dog species largely missing. The pets found loitering were considered stray and in most cases were killed by the irate residents. Conclusion From the study, it was evident that the people of Illinois prefer the artificially bred dog and cat species which is contrary to nature’s way of balancing itself. The fact that native dog and cat species are killed by the residents is a show of great hostility and played a part in ensuring the reduced number of the dogs and cats within the state. It, therefore, comes as a challenge to the government; it is in such extreme human-animal animosity that the government should set policies to secure the rights of such endangered animals are obeyed. Works Cited Bradley, P. Circus in the Americas. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print. Browning, B. Animal Welfare. New York: Raintree, 2003. Print. Catalano, J. Animal welfare. London: Chelsea House Publishers, 1994. Print. Council of Europe. Animal welfare. London: Council of Europe Publishing, 2005. Print. Grandin, T. Improving animal welfare:a practical approach. London: CABI, 2010. Print. Haynes, R. Animal Welfare:Competing Conceptions and Their Ethical Implications. New Jersey: Springer, 2010. Print. Hughes, B. Animal Welfare. New York: CABI, 2011. Print. Shames, L. Animal Welfare:USDAżs Oversight of Dealers of Random Source Dogs and Cats Would Benefit from Additional Management Information and Analysis. New York: DIANE Publishing, 2011. Print. Spedding, C. Animal welfare. New York: Earthscan, 2000. Print. Webster, J. Animal Welfare:Limping Towards Eden. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Print. Read More