Entertaining ourselves at their cost

Amusement?
Circuses, zoos, aquariums, foxhunting, dog fighting, hunting, fishing, horse racing.. all of these practices use animals against their will.
People take part in these things because they consider them to be fun, entertaining, artistic or cultural, but none of these things justifies forcing animals into confinement, to suffer and to die, for our benefit. In the past, in roman circuses, they killed elephants, humans, tigers and other animals for the sake of killing and entertaining the spectators. Not long ago in England bears were forced to fight dogs until one of the two died. Until recently in a Spanish town they threw goats to their deaths from the church tower during festivals.
All of these forms of entertainment have finally been rejected by most of society, but still many more forms of abuse are yet to be questioned and eliminated. Many such legal abuses disgust most of us whilst others seem perfectly normal, but just like the roman circuses it is probable that they will one day be seen as unacceptable forms of abuse.

Animal circuses
Circuses attract attention for being attractive, fun and original. They are visited by many children, often attracted by the animals they can see in them. Sadly there is another reality behind those circuses which make use of animals - a reality of suffering, deprivation and death. Lions, tigers, elephants, seals… animals whose lives in liberty are full of a variety of experiences, are condemned to a life of repeating tricks which amuse the spectators but cause the animals themselves stress, anguish and physical pain. This goes alongside the life of neglect and constraint which revolves around entertaining, travelling and solitude which is forced upon them. Visit the circuses which don’t make use of animals! These are indeed fun, but for everyone.

Zoos
Zoos are prisons in which hundreds of animals are encaged for the enjoyment of paying visitors. Animals from lions to snakes and all kinds of ‘exotic’ animals pass the days in cages, cells and other enclosed spaces whilst they are ‘admired’ and photographed by us. Little can be learnt in zoos about animal behaviour, only about how to deprive them of their freedom and use them whenever we feel like it. But even if we could learn a lot about animal behaviour in the confines of a zoo, no gaining of knowledge justifies depriving others of their freedom.

Hunting
Hunting is considered a sport. As a result millions more animals die every year. The most common practice is ‘small game hunting’, in which the victims tend to be partridges, turtle-doves, rabbits, certain aquatic birds, migratory bird species, etc. There is also ‘big game hunting’, in which then victims include wild boar, roe-deer, larger deer, rams etc. Hunters use guns to murder certain individuals, and let pellets to kill, injure and mutilate others.

Aquatic prisons

'Aquariums' are aquatic prisons in which hundreds of marine animals - mammals like dolphins and killer whales as well as tropical, fresh and saltwater fish species etc. These individuals would otherwise swim many kilometres in a day and possess senses which guide them through their aquatic habitats which are frustrated in the tanks in which they are condemned to spend their lives.
Through the glass of the aquarium we don’t see the full picture. We don’t see the boredom, the monotony or the suffering endured by the animals behind the screens, pero this reality can change if we don’t participate in this type of enclosure.

Other ‘spectacles’

Other spectacles exist where animals are utilized. Rodeos, horse and greyhound racing etc. In all of these the same wrong is repeated: Animals created, raised, bought, sold and used for human entertainment.

What can i do?

There are countless forms of entertainment which don’t cause harm to or oppress animals. We can go to circuses which don’t use animals, the cinema, the theatre, concerts, expositions, walks, hikes… the possibilities are almost endless. But above us we can make a difference in our lives by informing others about why these places should not exist.

We should all be able to enjoy freedom, human or not.