The Truth About Using Animals In Shows

In general, when animal cruelty is alluded to, the main reference is the sound of bullfights. However, the use of animals in shows, especially wild animals, ends up becoming a situation that ends up causing a lot of suffering to animals.

Although some shows, such as television programs or movies, are heavily regulated by the laws of some countries regarding the use of animals, there are a number of loopholes in the law that allow many actions that go against the welfare of the animals. animals.

Such is the case of wild animals used in the entertainment industry, as many animals are captured when they are still young, are removed from their natural habitats and forced to live in conditions that will hardly be able to simulate their original habitats.

The environmental damage

Something very problematic that occurs when removing species from a natural environment is that, if they escape, they could cause severe ecological damage due to the intrusion of exotic species.

On the other hand, animal trafficking continues to be one of the main threats within the species extinction processes, which reach critical levels.

An example of this is what a recent study reveals that, in 40 years, marine species had their populations reduced by up to 75% of their specimens.

the torture of captivity

In addition to being introduced to an environment to which they are not used, animals that were not born in captivity are subjected to ill-treatment and torture,  so that they carry out activities that are completely alien to their natural behavior.

Thousands of animals die every year in these trainings, either by accidents or due to inhumane treatments to which they are subjected.

Living conditions are not the best either, as these animals live most of the time locked in trailers or dark and small cages, often walking in their own droppings or those of their cellmates.

Likewise, the training methods are also not the most suitable, as the ideal for them is that the animal learns as quickly as possible and is afraid of its trainer, for this they use skewers, electrical discharges or blows.

The most frequently used methods of punishment are amputations (tooth, fang and claw amputations), total isolation and deprivation of food or water.

Finally, after being subjected to this type of treatment for years and spending long hours working without adequate rest, the animals are abandoned in dark cages when they reach old age, where they are scarcely fed or treated by a veterinarian, until finally they die victims of loneliness and various illnesses.

the hidden problem

The main problem of this phenomenon is, as well as that of poaching, in the ignorance on the part of the spectators of the suffering that these animals go through during the hard life of captivity.

Therefore, people massively watch these shows, indirectly promoting and financing the practices that are committed with these animals.

Ignorance is a determining factor in these cases, as the entertainment industry sells the false image that these places are, in fact, the happiest places in the world for animals to live.

However, behind the scenes, the physical and emotional consequences of the inhumane treatment that these animals receive and solitary incarceration is more than evident, and it is necessary to initiate actions that seek to stop this type of activities, at least to seek to create a fairer world for all .

So, we invite you to reflect and look beyond what is presented in these shows and so that we can together give a voice to those who cannot tell their own suffering.