Unknown Acts of Animal Cruelty in Entertainment
Almost everyone loves animals. Whether you have a pet dog at home, or love going to the zoo, or if you just enjoy watching videos online of cute kittens a lot of us have a soft spot for animals. Of course businesses figured this out and utilizes peoples love for animals to make money. Hollywood uses a variety animals to co-star in movies, pet stores make a profit from selling house pets, and businesses like Sea World make money by having dolphins perform in front of live audiences. However, people rarely see behind the scenes of businesses like these, and are unaware of the horrors animals have to go through to get where they are. Its a tragedy that the general public is ignorant to how animals are treated for their own enjoyment.
A lot of people are oblivious to acts of animal cruelty because businesses try their hardest to hide it. For example local pet stores, in fact why don't we use are own local pet store Doogans for this example. The stores motto is "Bringing people and animals closer together",and it makes money by selling basic house pets. However where do they get all of these animals? Doogans has actually admitted that they get their dogs from puppy mills. If you don't know what a puppy mill is it is basically a dog factory where large populations of puppies are produced in disgusting conditions like in the picture in the top left. The dogs in that picture look sick, filthy, and malnourished. The lighting makes it almost look like a scene from a horror movie. Those dogs in the photo are the mothers of the puppies you see in pet shops and will spend their whole lives in those cages until they can't produce anymore litters, and then they are killed. That picture basically says it all about puppy mills, how it is so dark and dirty, and it is clearly overcrowded with dogs. The mother dogs in the picture on the right look as if they all suffer from either "mange,malnutrition,exposure,fleas,worms,and infections" majorly contrasting with the cute puppies on the top. Obviously the people who are 'caring' for these dogs don't give them even sub standard veterinary care because in the photo the four dogs look seriously ill and abused. The puppies on the top of the photo though, they look alright on the outside but actually have their own problems. Most of those puppies are inbred, which "causes...(them) to be born with genetic diseases and abnormalities-shortening life span severely". They look so small and cute in the picture but when they grow up and develop health issues it won't be so cute when you spend hundreds of dollars trying to help keep them healthy. Why do puppy mills exist? It's because they are the cheapest way for pet shops to get dogs. If more people adopted through shelters these puppy mills would not be able to make a profit and close down. People don't always want to adopt though because they don't want an adult dog they want a small, cute, energetic puppy they can raise themselves. They want a fun and young animal to play with and have fun with. If people knew that the puppies they buy support these mills, they would adopt instead and save these dogs from going through the horror of being born in a mill.
Everyone loves Marineland right? With the marine themed attractions, rides, and their star of the show the killer whale named Kiska it sounds like the perfect place for families with small kids. The photo on the right was taken in sea world, and shows a large audience of happy spectators watching an orca performing with its trainer. That's what most people think when they go to Marine land or Sea World, but only some notice the slight details that expose these prime vacation spots for what they really are. The orca on the right looks healthy, performing a cute trick for the colorful audience, but their is one small thing that really shows the difference between wild orcas and captive orcas.This whale is suffering from dorsal fin collapse which happens when a male whale is exposed to the surface to much, causing the dorsal fin to bend. In the wild it is very rare for a killer whale to suffer from dorsal fin collapse, but in captivity its common because of all the tricks they perform. This shows how whales are not meant to be used as attractions in captivity. This topic is very controversial since the hit "Blackfish" came out in 2013, addressing the inhumane ways and psychological trauma the whales have to go through to become performers. I left a link for the trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ou5DqfkZ8. Kiska, the whale from Marineland, demonstrates a few examples of why orcas should not be kept in captivity for entertainment. She was captured from the wild off the coast of Iceland in 1979 and put into a tank the "equivalent of a human being (put) in a bath tub". Since then she has lived a life of isolation which is" illegal for highly social animals like killer whales to live alone across the border" in Sea World. The only exceptions was when they tried to breed her which resulted in five pregnancy,which tragically resulted in none of her calves surviving. Kiska is to old for performing now, so spends her days floating in her tank. The picture on the left is Kiska and it was taken in August. It is clear she is suffering from peanut head because of the large indentations around her blow hole. This means she is going through severe weight loss. This picture is very sad, because it shows the stress and pain killer whales go through when kept in captivity. These whales make millions a year, selling tickets and merchandise to families that don't realize how inhumane it is to keep a whale in captivity. This just further proves how the general public is ignorant to how animals are treated for their enjoyment.
The final topic is the treatment of animals in Hollywood movies. In movies that use animals the American Humane Association is suppose to have a safety representative for the animal on set at all times to monitor its health and training. That's the idea at least. The picture on the left tells something different. In the picture the symbol of the AHA and their line they put at the end of movies are being contrasted with bloody foot prints and what looks like a dead dog. One of the footprints even cover the 'no' on the picture. What the picture is telling us in the logo is much different to what we see, which represents the neglect the AHA have on its animals. The colors in the picture are dull making the bloody footprints standout and the dog makes the picture very disturbing and sad to look at. The logo of the AHA is faded which symbolizes how the organization is also faded itself. The AHA is faded because instead of doing what they are suppose to be doing, which is looking out for the safety of all the animals, they actually have done the opposite by "systematically hidden animal deaths in interest of preserving friendly relations with Hollywood producers". This information reduces their logo to a lie, like how in the picture the reassuring logo is covered in bloody prints. Movies people wouldn't expect to have animal deaths do, like in The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey "27 animals reportedly perished, including sheep and goats that died from dehydration and exhaustion or from drowning in water-filled gullies". In the life of Pi the tiger King that played Richard Parker nearly drowned. Even in Disney films the AHA neglected their duties and in the movie Eight Below a "husky was punched repeatedly in its diaphragm" by its trainer! In Pirates of the Caribbean dead fish and squid washed up on beaches for four days because no precautions were taken for the special effects. In all of these incidents AHA personal were on set, so what could their excuse be for being so irresponsible? The organization says that because the incidents were "unintentional, or that because they happened off-camera, they don't count". They even went as far as to say that the general public think the AHA monitoring and end credit is for when an animal dies in the movie, and its just for when the cameras are rolling. The picture on the left now makes more sense with this information as it shows us how the AHA lies and covers its mistakes by using its symbol and the trust people have in it. This demonstrates how the general public are oblivious to the fact that AHA is lying about the animals health in movies, and how the public only pays attention to the entertainment and enjoyment the animals do on camera and not behind the scenes.
All of these examples show how businesses manipulate peoples love for animals by selling them, or using them for entertainment so that they can make money. The general public are oblivious to the fact that these animals are treated cruelly behind the scenes because the are to concentrated on their own enjoyment and entertainment. Businesses and organizations like Doogans, Marineland, and the American Humane Association prove this by keeping their animals in poor captivity conditions, ignoring the animals health and safety, and by hiding their own inhumane habits from the public.
https://nodogaboutit.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/img_0199.jpg
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/marineland-s-killer-whale-is-ill-animal-rights-group-says-1.2725870
http://blackfishmovie.com/stills
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-animal-welfare-group-forms-668027
The final topic is the treatment of animals in Hollywood movies. In movies that use animals the American Humane Association is suppose to have a safety representative for the animal on set at all times to monitor its health and training. That's the idea at least. The picture on the left tells something different. In the picture the symbol of the AHA and their line they put at the end of movies are being contrasted with bloody foot prints and what looks like a dead dog. One of the footprints even cover the 'no' on the picture. What the picture is telling us in the logo is much different to what we see, which represents the neglect the AHA have on its animals. The colors in the picture are dull making the bloody footprints standout and the dog makes the picture very disturbing and sad to look at. The logo of the AHA is faded which symbolizes how the organization is also faded itself. The AHA is faded because instead of doing what they are suppose to be doing, which is looking out for the safety of all the animals, they actually have done the opposite by "systematically hidden animal deaths in interest of preserving friendly relations with Hollywood producers". This information reduces their logo to a lie, like how in the picture the reassuring logo is covered in bloody prints. Movies people wouldn't expect to have animal deaths do, like in The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey "27 animals reportedly perished, including sheep and goats that died from dehydration and exhaustion or from drowning in water-filled gullies". In the life of Pi the tiger King that played Richard Parker nearly drowned. Even in Disney films the AHA neglected their duties and in the movie Eight Below a "husky was punched repeatedly in its diaphragm" by its trainer! In Pirates of the Caribbean dead fish and squid washed up on beaches for four days because no precautions were taken for the special effects. In all of these incidents AHA personal were on set, so what could their excuse be for being so irresponsible? The organization says that because the incidents were "unintentional, or that because they happened off-camera, they don't count". They even went as far as to say that the general public think the AHA monitoring and end credit is for when an animal dies in the movie, and its just for when the cameras are rolling. The picture on the left now makes more sense with this information as it shows us how the AHA lies and covers its mistakes by using its symbol and the trust people have in it. This demonstrates how the general public are oblivious to the fact that AHA is lying about the animals health in movies, and how the public only pays attention to the entertainment and enjoyment the animals do on camera and not behind the scenes. All of these examples show how businesses manipulate peoples love for animals by selling them, or using them for entertainment so that they can make money. The general public are oblivious to the fact that these animals are treated cruelly behind the scenes because the are to concentrated on their own enjoyment and entertainment. Businesses and organizations like Doogans, Marineland, and the American Humane Association prove this by keeping their animals in poor captivity conditions, ignoring the animals health and safety, and by hiding their own inhumane habits from the public.
Picture Citations
http://www.globalanimal.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Puppy-Mill-Cages.jpghttps://nodogaboutit.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/img_0199.jpg
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/marineland-s-killer-whale-is-ill-animal-rights-group-says-1.2725870
http://blackfishmovie.com/stills
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-animal-welfare-group-forms-668027
Blackfish Trailer Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ou5DqfkZ8
Citation Page Link
http://www.noodletools.com/noodlebib/mybib.php?highlight=3831060
I am also a big animal lover and find the way they are treated by businesses very disturbing. I agree with your view on the subject. I think puppy mills are one of the cruelest forms of animal abuse out there. I think your photos of the puppy mills are very hard to look at because of how real it makes the issue seem. But I also believe that people need to be informed in order to stop puppy mills and animal abuse. I agree with your idea that if more people knew about puppy mills they would adopt from shelters because I believe that many people just do not realize how badly animals are treated and where they come from. I also think places like sea world are very wrong but people just look past the issues because of the entertainment value in it. Tourists want their children to see the whales and aquatic life because it will give them great memories as children. Movie animals are something I did not realize were treated poorly. Mostly because when you see them on TV they look so happy and healthy that I had never really thought about it. Many people do not view animal’s lives in high enough regard. I really like the photos you chose because of how connected they bring you to the problem of animal abuse. I wonder how many pet stores and places with animals are out there that actually treat animals properly.
ReplyDeleteI am totally with you on this, being the animal lover I am. I agree with everything you have presented...the terrible problems dogs have from being from the puppy mills and how they treat the dogs like dirt, to the killer whales being taken from their natural habitat and put into places like Marineland. What I found most interesting is when we watched your clip on the killer whale. I found this interesting because i noticed that the dorsal fin on this particular whale was hanging over to the side. This is due to the fact that its been taken out of the wild where if it stayed, the fin would be upright because the whale would be fighting currents and need to get up to speeds where it can go through the water swiftly unlike being stuck in a small confined space forced to do tricks for us. What i also found interesting was the fact that Marineland didn't provide enough food for the whale so much so that it got a peanut head. I find this very very sad because not only did they get taken from their families, they don't even get fed enough which truly pisses me off to the point where i will no longer take my kids or any family members to Marineland ever.
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