The document discusses the mistreatment of animals held in captivity for entertainment purposes. It notes that while places like aquariums, zoos, and circuses claim the animals are well cared for, documentaries like Blackfish show the trauma of captivity and training methods like starvation. Interviews found most people feel animals belong in the wild and have emotions, and that witnessing abuse has made them reconsider supporting captivity entertainment. Actions people can take include avoiding these places, signing petitions, and donating to conservation instead of zoos.
The document discusses the mistreatment of animals held in captivity for entertainment purposes. It notes that while places like aquariums, zoos, and circuses claim the animals are well cared for, documentaries like Blackfish show the trauma of captivity and training methods like starvation. Interviews found most people feel animals belong in the wild and have emotions, and that witnessing abuse has made them reconsider supporting captivity entertainment. Actions people can take include avoiding these places, signing petitions, and donating to conservation instead of zoos.
The document discusses the mistreatment of animals held in captivity for entertainment purposes. It notes that while places like aquariums, zoos, and circuses claim the animals are well cared for, documentaries like Blackfish show the trauma of captivity and training methods like starvation. Interviews found most people feel animals belong in the wild and have emotions, and that witnessing abuse has made them reconsider supporting captivity entertainment. Actions people can take include avoiding these places, signing petitions, and donating to conservation instead of zoos.
The document discusses the mistreatment of animals held in captivity for entertainment purposes. It notes that while places like aquariums, zoos, and circuses claim the animals are well cared for, documentaries like Blackfish show the trauma of captivity and training methods like starvation. Interviews found most people feel animals belong in the wild and have emotions, and that witnessing abuse has made them reconsider supporting captivity entertainment. Actions people can take include avoiding these places, signing petitions, and donating to conservation instead of zoos.
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Running head: Behind the Scenes 1
Behind the Scenes
Jessica Macias
University of Texas at El Paso
\ Behind the Scenes 2
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to show how animals are treated behind closed training door held in
captivity taken away from where they belong for events such as the circus or even at the famous
aquatic attraction and even in Hollywood. Showing the different sides of what people think of
this and how many of these owners of these productions on why they do it and how it is safe and
if they are treating the animals the right way. Many people do ignore the fact that animals may
have emotions and in these randomized survey questions asked people did explain how they do
feel for the animals and they do take into consideration that they deserve to be in a more natural
habitat and not used for entertainment.
Behind the Scenes 3
Aquariums, zoos and circuses are all enjoyable places to be. Looking for something to do
on a weekend or even as a family vacation come down to the shows that use chains, whips and
hooks to get these helpless animals to do what they want against their will (Good, 2014). We do
not think about these things while we watch these harmless shows. Animals are meant to be in
the wild, not kept in a cage not even half the size they would be in if they were still in the wild.
They are meant for so they say educational purposes but in reality, it is not educational at all.
there is no educational value, they treat the exhibit like wallpaper. Meaning people do not pay
that much attention to the exhibits but they see it more towards something for entertainment
purposes rather than for educational purposes (PETA, n.d,).
However, claims are made that animals are properly trained an well taken care of. In one
particular case back in 2013 a film was released named Blackfish. This documentary film
explains in detail the horrific training and experience Sea world animals go through to create and
preform the glorious killer whale show. This film shows how animals held in captivity go wild, it
talks about a killer whale who kills a series of people all due to the fact he was stripped from his
family and has been held in a blacked-out tank for years now. It also shows the training they
have to go through, the starvation if tricks are not preformed right and the nonstop training for
hours without food and then later sent back to their crammed tanks they share with other whales
(Cowperthwaite, 2010). Sea world then took action responding that this film was using
employees back then and as of now they have remodeled their facilities and rules (sea world
cares, n.d). they claim this film is misleading and more propaganda than an actually
documentary. But the overall question is why hide the proof they show in the films? If there was
no harm in captivity why is there is so many other places with animal attacks and animals being
injured or killed in a zoo or aquarium.
Behind the Scenes 4
Figure 1
In figure 1 animals are suffering from being enclosed in an unnatural enviorment that is
not even half the size of the area they should be roaming, causing certain unpredictable signs and
unhealthy lifestyles.
Additionally, animals are meant to be free in the wild not walking across a tight line from
one end to the other or racing in circles training for day even though they should be roaming free
where they belong. Zoos claim to help animals who are endangered but if you pay close attention
you can tell most animals are giant animals who will capture an audiences attention. Most are
likely to not be extinct and the smaller animals that are, are still out in the wild because people
rather see tigers and elephant even wolves (PETA Kids, n.d.). maulings continuously happen
throughout zoos and aquatic theme parks due to animals lashing out. Animals are meant for the
wild, they are unpredictable creatures and we never know when they will strike. In 2007 an
attack at the san Francisco zoo killed a 17 year old boy and injured two other men. Thinking it
could have been the fact that the animal has been held in captivity, this is not the first time the
tiger had attacked (ABC, 2007). Later on in the years a death of a gorilla named Harambe soon
blew up all over social media people taking his defense on why he was lashing out at the little Behind the Scenes 5
kid who fell into his cage and people enraged on how the gorilla was killed. As long as we keep
complex wild animals in zoos, circuses, and other unnatural situations that deny them the full
range of their normal behaviors, they will continue to suffer and dangerous human-animal
interactions that end in tragedy will continueall while wild populations dwindle. Despite the
claims of zoos and other animal exhibitors, not only is there no educational value in seeing
animals confined to artificial exhibits (Nasser,2016).
Figure 2
In figure 2 Harambe was a seventeen-year-old gorilla from the Cincinnati Zoo who
dragged a young boy who climbed into his exhibit and zoo keepers had no choice but to put the
gorilla down (Wikipedia, 2017)..
Constructing these questions and asking around I got some shocking results that I did not
expect for people to actually think
1) Do you ever take into consideration animals that are being held captive? 2) Do you think animals have feelings, Do you feel bad for them? 3) What have you done or what can you do to help?
Do you ever take into consideration about animals held in captivity?.
Many people do actually care what is going on with animals, they do see how throughout
the years animals have been lashing out due to the possibility of not being in their natural
environments. Most people stated that they started thinking more about the mistreatment of
animals after they saw the film blackfish or the viral video of the K9 Hollywood dog was forced Behind the Scenes 6
into doing a stunt that he was terrified to do and it went viral all over social media (Parry, 2017).
People telling me how they do think animals should be in their natural habitats and when they go
to these aquariums or zoos they feel the sadness an animal is going through while just sitting in
their cages. One response was as a kid I use to enjoy these types of things, but as I got older and
learned the truth about what actually goes on in their trainings and how they are taken from
natural environments I would rather stay away from these places.
Do you feel bad for these animals?
animals should not be taken away from their natural environment and taken away from
their familys for the sake of our own entertainment. Money is all they want from these
animals and they could not care less about these animals and how they are being treated or the
trauma they are going through. Animals do have feelings, it may be expressed in different ways
than a human but there are clear signs they do have a emotions. They are conscious on who
observes them and if they are in any danger. Labs assume they do not have any feelings but in
the public eye it is quite obvious that they do considering many people are pet owners. Animals
have feelings and empathy they have instincts to protect someone or something that is in danger
its pretty velar to the public they do have feelings (Worrall n.d.). Most responded that they do
feel bad for these animals. If they do have emotions imagining a personal level of being taken
away from your family and put into a completely unnatural place to be in. we feel sympathy for
these animals, they go through so much and we do not even realize it.
What have you done or what can you do to help?
Petitions are one of the many ways that you can help end captivity, mistreatment of
animals end. Many people dont know about these things theres petitions to stop going to zoos
or release animals into the wild where they belong even though many zoos claim that they would Behind the Scenes 7
not survive once sent back to their natural habitats and drastic change in climates and
environment in general. Simply not attending any of these places are a help. As well as starting
up the cage free zoos. Which are zoos that are in the wild they are not caged in but the people are
caged in allowing you to get a more education perspective of their life like habitat and not just a
little section of trees and a pond at a zoo. Never patronize zoos. The money spent on ticket
purchases pays for animals to be imprisoned and traded, not rescued and rehabilitated.
If your local zoo solicits money from corporate donors and/or charitable organizations and
foundations, write to the zoos sponsors and encourage them to put their money toward
protecting animals in the wild instead (PETA, n.d.). Online petitions are around and most people
interviewed were college students and have signed a petition on campus on the awareness of
mistreating animals or animals being held in cages.
Conclusion
New techniques have been coming into place such as animal rights laws and the start of
having opened up zoos where you will go in a cage and roam the wild and see the animals in
there natural habitat without harming them or taking them out of their comfort zone, laws are put
into place on what kind of animals you can and cannot take or attack, as well as social media
taking a huge part in this process. The majority of people are on social media now a days and
constantly share the videos of animals being harassed or forced to do things they do not want to
do. Instead of patronizing some of these places a more logical place to fund would be sanctuarys
which help rescue endangered animals but adjust to their comforts and take into consideration
what damage they would be doing if placed in the wrong place (PETA n.d.). Behind the Scenes 8
References
5 Secrets Zoos Don't Want You to Know | Save Animals. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2017,
from http://www.petakids.com/save-animals/zoos/
News, A. (2007, December 28). Should Animals Be Held in Captivity? Retrieved April
14, 2017, from http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4055821&page=1
Entertainment, S. P. (n.d.). Why Blackfish is Propaganda, not a Documentary.
Retrieved April 14, 2017, from https://seaworldcares.com/the-facts/truth-about-
blackfish/
Marine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2017, from
