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Animals
In Sport & Entertainment
See
also Hunting and Zoos & Aquariums
When
Animals Resist Their Exploitation: Kasatka, The Sea
World Orca
Jason Hribal, Counterpunch
— December 2006
There is, in fact, a sizable amount of contemporary
research done by zoos seeking to discover why animals
become anti-social or act lethargic when confronted
by visitors. The ultimate purpose of these "behavioral
enrichment" studies is to lessen resistance and
increase production...
The
Slaughtered Horses that Shame Our Racing
Antony Barnet, The Observer, Feature — October 2006
An undercover Observer investigation has
revealed the shocking fate of thousands of British
racehorses. Now campaigners want new laws to govern
the sport...
Where
are All These Pit Bulls Coming From?
Michael Mullins, West New
York Report, feature — September
2006
Animal rescuers say that there are so many pit bull strays because of unregulated
breeders who mate dogs for dogfights in urban areas like Jersey City, and because
of irresponsible owners who buy pit bulls as a status symbol and don't neuter
them...
"That
sort of Self-Delusion is What it Takes to Be a Real
Aussie Larrikin"
Germaine Greer, Guardian
Unlimited, editorial — September 2006
What Steve Irwin never seemed to understand
was that animals need space. The one lesson any conservationist
must labour to drive home is that habitat loss is
the principal cause of species loss...
Fatal
Fights — Dogs on the Underground Circuit
Brernda
Shoss, Kinship Circle, essay — October
2006
Gypsy
is found stumbling along Gaston County’s main highway
in North Carolina. Her right front leg is shredded. Flesh
falls from her face, exposing teeth and gums in a perpetual
bite. But the battered pit bull can no longer bite anyone.
Her lips and nose have dissolved into pus. This
dog with no face is a familiar sight to Tri-County Animal
Rescue staff who admit her in April 2005. She is dogfighter’s
garbage. Her moneymaking days are over...
Primate
Passion
Laura Provolt, The Eureka Reporter, feature — August 2006
Phil Monroe was inspired to become
an organ grinder by Donovan's song Hurdy Gurdy Man...
At that time, it was much easier to enter a business
like organ grinding than today. "Back then, you could
walk into a pet store and plunk down $50 and buy a
monkey," Monroe said...
Chained,
Caged & Degraded
Donna Carton, Sunday Mirror, commentary — July
2006
The captive wild animals are made to hobble around on three legs, swing their
trunks 360 degrees in time to music, balance on tiny stools and act as a climbing
frame for humans...
The
Shadowy World of Dogfighting.
Paul Huggins, Decatur Daily, investigation — March 2006
The agent lived among the ringleaders,
and it took him months to gain their confidence and
learn the whereabouts of the mega dogfighting event.
They arrested 66 people...
Racing
for the Grave: The Iditarod's Trail of Dog Deaths
H. Moore, Disinfo.com, feature — February
2006
While "overdriving" or "overworking" an
animal is considered a violation of cruelty-to-animals
laws in 38 states, it does not apply in Alaska. The
dogs have no choice but to run; they are tethered
together and there are no rules against whipping
them...
Blue
Hens Beloved, Extinct, Illegal, Collectible
Robin Brown, The News Journal, feature — February 2006
"They're for curiosity sake," Gelb
said. "If we don't keep them, who the heck would?"...
The
Life of a Bear
Victor Watkins, Animal Sentience, feature — January 2006
Each bear species has evolved to adapt to
different lifestyles and although there is some specialisation
in the diets of each bear species, the general behaviour
and motivations of all bear species is very similar...
The
Horror of Captive Breeding Exposed
John Yeld, Independent Onlins, investigation — November
2005
The captive breeding industry, the corollary
of canned hunting, had grown incredibly since his
first major investigation in 2001 and there had
been "massive" capital
investment by some farmers...
The
Dangers of Hawaii's Aquarium Fish Industry
Keahi Tucker, KGMB, Channel 9, investigation — November
2005
Every
year. more than half a million of the state's most beautiful
fish are taken from our reefs and sent to aquarium tanks
around the world. It's a multi-million dollar industry
that's been mostly unregulated...
Plight
of the Dancing Bear
Channel 14 News, investigation — November 2005
For 300 years the bear has been kept in
captivity where they are subject to appalling treatment
and during the day made to dance for the crowds...
Questions
and Answers About Not Having Elephants at the Detroit
Zoo
Detroit Zoo, feature — August 2005
A fundamental requirement for keeping animals
in captivity is that we provide an excellent quality
of life. In order to do that we must meet a species'
and an individual's physical, social and psychological
needs. We feel that we can accomplish this for all
the animals at the Detroit Zoo, but can't for elephants....
What's
Really Cooking at Campbell's?
Steve Hindi and Pat Vinet, Satya, feature — August 2005
SHowing Animal Respect and Kindness (SHARK) launched a campaign
against the Campbell Soup Company for its sponsorship of
rodeos through its subsidiary Pace Foods, a Texas-based salsa
company. Pace Foods not only sponsors rodeos, but also steer
tripping...
Endangered
Species Goods Selling on Net
The Age, feature — August 2005
A three month investigation by the
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
revealed that more than 9,000 live species or
animal products, including a live gorilla, were
available for sale on the internet in one week
alone...
Monkey
Law
Cheryl Smith, Austin Chronicle, feature — August 2005
No
matter how docile a dependent infant ape or monkey
might act toward their caretaker, when they reach
sexual maturity they start battling the humans around
them for dominance, just as primates do amongst themselves
in the wild...
A
Most Dangerous Game
Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, feature — July 2005
In a renewed effort to persuade lawmakers
on Beacon Hill to pull the plug on dog racing, Grey2K
is preparing to mail a report on the greyhound deaths
and injuries to every representative and state senator...
Drugged
Gamecocks Rehab at Chicken Sanctuary
Amir Efrati, The Wall Street Jounal, feature — July 2005
Felipe, an orange-feathered rooster from
Pennsylvania, faced near-certain death when police
busted his cockfighting match on a rural compound
in 2001. Instead, he checked into the Eastern Shore
Chicken Sanctuary...
After
Four Centuries, Orvieto's Doves to Live in Peace
Barbara McMahon, The Guardian, feature — May
2005
And
so another Palombella ritual ended yesterday in the
Italian town of Orvieto but the question on everyone's
lips was: is this the final time a live dove would
be used in the tradition dating back six centuries?...
PRCA
Rules Governing the Care and Treatment of Livestock
at PRCA Sanctioned Rodeos / Comments from SHARK
Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, SHARK — May
2005
Given
the recurrence of the same behavior year after year
by some PRCA stock contractors, there is no reason
to believe that there are any sanctions whatsoever
for violations of PRCA "humane rules"...
Cruel
or Usual?
Michael
de Yoanna, Colorado Springs Independent, commentary — April
2005
The
rodeo crowd mellows as the steer — a castrated
bull weighing some 600 pounds — lies
still. Its eyes blink as several rodeo hands roll
its motionless body onto a flat wooden pallet that
is dragged away by horses...
Chimps
Deserve Better Than They Get
Roger and Deborah Fouts, Daily News,
feature — March 2005
The
tragic chimpanzee attack in Caliente earlier this
month proves unequivocally that chimpanzees have
no place on TV shows or in back yards. Buddy and
Ollie, the two chimpanzees killed during the attack,
got their start in the world from the same chimpanzee
trainer who did the Careerbuilder.com
ads seen during this year's Super Bowl...
'Shrek'
Donkeys Being Neglected
BBC, feature — February 2005
Both
the original Shrek film and the sequel, charting
the adventures of a green ogre and his donkey friend,
have proved extremely popular with children. Practising
vet Mr Jinman says he has been receiving an increasing
number of calls about donkeys over the past three years...
Facts
Show Iditarod is Barbaric
Margery Glickman, Help Sled Dogs, commentary — February
2005
The
first Saturday in March is the start of Alaska's annual
exploitation of dogs in the Iditarod. Alaska law allows
dog mushers and the Iditarod to knowingly inflict severe
and prolonged pain or suffering on dogs. And that's
just what they do every year...
Cockfighting
May Be On Its Last Legs
Elizabeth Nash, The
Independent, feature — January 2005
Emboldened
by their success and polls which show an overwhelming majority
is opposed to cockfighting... those campaigners are now
actively targeting these final redoubts of the sport.
Cockfighting is fighting for its life...
A
Bloody Fight to the Death
Elizabeth Nash,
The Independent, feature — December 2004
Sixty-five
years on, in a development that would have astounded
Hemingway, a campaign is growing in Spain to take the
kill out of the corrida; to remove the
bull from public view in its last moments of agony...
Low
Blows:
A Report on the Sorry Plight of Boxing Orangutans in
a Thai Zoo
John Aglionby, The Guardian, investigation
— October 2004
The
111 of the 115 Thai kick boxers still alive after
several years of a gruelling regime at the Safari World
centre just south of Bangkok are reportedly suffering
from herpes, skin diseases, hepatitis and mental depression.
Many are children. Their accommodation is dirty,
dark and cramped...
Dogfighting — Ugly
Hunt for Blood Money
Jeffrey Mize, The Columbian, feature — October
2004
It
was a festive event, with a cook brought in to
barbecue chicken. Potato salad, soda and beer were
laid out on a red-and-white checkered tablecloth
in a San Francisco warehouse so spectators could
tear into chicken and other food while they watched
pit bulls slowly rip each other apart...
Fiesta
Rodeo Disgraces Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara News Press, commentary — August
2004
The
poking, prodding, harassing and hurting of animals
at rodeos has no place in modern Santa Barbara. The
rodeo is a tradition all right — a tradition
of inhumane treatment that city leaders should have
worked to end years ago...
Flogging
A Natural Born Hero:
The Betrayal of Smarty Jones
Becky Bergwin, Counterpunch, commentary — June 2004
Then,
for some completely incomprehensible reason, Mr. Elliott starts to whip him.
He starts hitting him and you can see Smarty's head snap back...
Basketball
Doesn't Need Donkeys
Norwich Bulletin, commentary — April 2004
During
the heat of competition, inexperienced riders often
mishandle donkeys, pushing, pulling, kicking and even
punching "uncooperative" animals. Donkeys
have been injured by misthrown balls or by falls on
slippery surfaces...
Elephant
Abuse Charges Add Fuel to Circus Debate
Maryann Mott, National Geographic,
feature — 2004
Should
elephants perform in circuses? It’s a simple
question that’s caused a lot of controversy
over the years...
As
Death Toll of Dogs Rises, So Does Iditarod's Insanity
Jim Sarceno, USA
Today, commentary — March 2004
More
than an estimated 120 dogs have perished during the history
of the race, which gives a Humanitarian Award. The number of
dog deaths does not include animals that perished afterward — or
the thousands that have been injured...
Cat
People:
Siegfried and Roy Tempted Fate
Annette Stark, LA City Beat, feature
— November 2003
It
was an accident waiting to happen. At least, that’s
what they’re saying now: The horrific mauling
of Vegas magician Roy Horn by one of his own tigers
at the Mirage Hotel & Casino two weeks ago
was inevitable...
Animal
Trafficking:
A Cruel Billion Dollar Business
Francesca Colombo, Common Dreams, investigation — November
2003
Although
legal trade in wildlife is regulated by the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES), an estimated
one-third of the global sales of 25 billion dollars
a year is illegal — an illicit business surpassed
only by arms and drugs trafficking...
Amazing
(?) Animal Actors
Sarah Baeckler, Chimpanzee Collaboratory,
investigation — October
2003
...for
a little more than a year...I
worked as a volunteer at Amazing Animal Actors,
a chimpanzee training compound that supplies
performers for film and television productions...
And I heard the director of the compound say, “Kick
her in the face as hard as you can. You can’t
hurt her”...
Shock
Report on Greyhound Cruelty
BBC News, feature — October 2003
In
Wales, up to a further 1800 lurchers, the smaller
type of greyhound crossbreed, may be discarded
after their sporting career reaches its peak...
Reptiles
as Pets:
An Examination of the Trade in Live Reptiles in the United States
Joseph Franke, Teresa Telecky, HSUS, investigaton
Most
reptiles that are kept as pets were captured in the
wild or were born from wild-caught parents held in
so-called ranches or farms. More than 18.3 million
live reptiles were imported to the United States from
89-97, in 97 alone more than 1.7 million reptiles were
imported to the United States...
Running
for Their Lives — The Darker Side of Greyhound
Racing
Greyhound Protection League,
investigation
A
few of the big winners are kept for breeding.
One retired greyhound breeder put it this
way: "If (the dogs) run off the track and
can't requalify, they're stuck out back and
lucky if they're fed"...
Bullfighting:
Tradition in Tragedy
Animals Voice, feature — 2001
Every year, approximately
35,000 bulls are tormented and killed in bullfights.
And it is the tourist, not the native, that keeps the
so-called tradition alive... 90 percent of these tourists
never return after witnessing what
actually takes place in the ring...
Of
Violence and Popcorn
Laura Moretti, essay
The
release of several major motion pictures has given
me serious pause for reflection. They’re not
movies I’d generally pay to see, but they reflect
blatant and hidden messages representative of our times,
the times we, as activists, are creating...
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