ANIMALS AND SOCIETY: AN INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN-ANIMAL STUDIESChapter 6: Display, Performance and SportCopyright Margo DeMello and Columbia University

Press, 2012

Americans love animals. We love watching them eat, watching them play, watching them interact with each other, and even watching them sleep. We also love touching them and being as close to them as possible. If we’re not watching our own animals, we’re bird-watching, whale-watching, photographing wildlife, scuba diving, snorkeling, or watching Animal Planet and Webcam footage from zoos and animal sanctuaries.

WATCHING ANIMALS

The disappearance of animals from our lives leads to our needing to bring them back in

But why entertainment? Why circuses, marine mammal parks, dog or horse racing, animal fighting, and rodeos?

Just as pet keeping is motivated by both love and domination, same may apply to animals used in entertainment

Is this attention good or bad for animals?

WHY DO WE WATCH ANIMALS?

Typically, the wilder and more exotic the animal, the more pleasure most of us get from just watching the animal

But domestic animals typically must perform—whether racing, fighting, or many of the activities found in the rodeo—since watching a domesticated animal in a zoo would not fi t most people’s idea of entertainment.

Animals are both like us and they are diff erent from us; they can be interpreted by us in a variety of ways, both to represent diff erence and otherness and to represent sameness and family.

WILD VS. DOMESTICATED

ZOOS

People have kept animals in captivity for thousands of years, long before the concept of “zoo” ever existed—as creatures of worship, as part of gladiatorial contests in the Roman Empire, for activities like bearbaiting and bullfighting in medieval Europe, and more.

Wealthy elites in ancient Egypt, Greece, China, and Rome, and later in Medieval and Renaissance Europe, also kept exotic animals as a demonstration of the wealth of the individuals or the wealth of the empire, as well as a mastery of nature through the ability to contain "ferocious" animals.

The animals themselves were often gifts from the leaders of other kingdoms or states.

ZOOS

By the late seventeenth century, private menageries were status symbols for wealthy Europeans, and commoners were not able to view them.

Commoners had to see animals as part of travelling shows, where exotic animals were exhibited alongside “freaks” and native peoples.

The first “zoological garden,” the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes, opened in Paris in 1794. In zoological gardens, animals were available for viewing as people walked and looked at plants, rather than just standing in one spot and observing them in cages.

Like modern zoos today, these early zoos competed for the best and most exotic animals and displays. And like the ancient collections, they were a place to put all the animals African and Asian rulers sent as gifts.

WHERE DO ZOO ANIMALS COME FROM?

For hundreds of years, zoos procured their animals by paying hunters or traders to catch live animals in the wild, by killing their parents.

During the growth of zoos in the nineteenth century, thanks to the stress of not just capture but transport across Africa or India to Europe, anywhere from one- to two-thirds of the animals died en route.

After the end of the colonial era, animals for zoos continued to be captured in the wild. It wasn’t until the signing of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) and the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973 that wild imports began to decline in the United States.

However, then as now, unscrupulous dealers can fake certificates of entry to say that the animals are captive bred, and customs officials are not trained in the identification of exotic animals.

Many zoo animals today are bred in captive breeding programs, and sold to other zoos.

ZOOS AND COLONIALISM

Up until the early 20th century, zoos were about displaying exotic animals taken from exotic cultures that were now under the control of the Colonial masters: England and America.

The connection between exotic cultures and peoples and exotic animals was seen in many zoos’ practices of displaying Africans alongside African animals in the zoo. In 1906, for example, the Bronx Zoo exhibited an African pygmy man named Ota Benga with the chimpanzees until the city’s African American community lodged a protest.

ZOOS: POSITIVES

•They educate the public about wild animals, teaching conservation•They give the public a chance to see wild animals•Some zoos play a part in breeding rare and endangered species (ex situ conservation, as opposed to in situ conservation, which refers to conservation programs in the wild). •Some zoos create research programs that focus on creating sustainable populations, conserving wildlife habitats, improving animal health, and even collecting data of endangered species’ DNA. •Some zoos have released zoo-raised endangered animals into the wild.

•They educate the public about wild animals, teaching conservation•They give the public a chance to see wild animals•Some zoos play a part in breeding rare and endangered species (ex situ conservation, as opposed to in situ conservation, which refers to conservation programs in the wild). •Some zoos create research programs that focus on creating sustainable populations, conserving wildlife habitats, improving animal health, and even collecting data of endangered species’ DNA. •Some zoos have released zoo-raised endangered animals into the wild.

ZOOS: NEGATIVES

•Zoo animals live in unnatural conditions, and are often deprived of social contact and natural activities•Zoochosis is the term coined for when an animal becomes deeply depressed, even psychotic, as the result of captivity. Zoochosis occurs because animals are not used to being in captivity.  Being caged in causes them to go insane. •Zoos reduce the life spans of some animals•Zoos may teach people about dominating animals, rather than saving them•Less than 10% of zoos are involved in conservation programs

•Zoo animals live in unnatural conditions, and are often deprived of social contact and natural activities•Zoochosis is the term coined for when an animal becomes deeply depressed, even psychotic, as the result of captivity. Zoochosis occurs because animals are not used to being in captivity.  Being caged in causes them to go insane. •Zoos reduce the life spans of some animals•Zoos may teach people about dominating animals, rather than saving them•Less than 10% of zoos are involved in conservation programs

Zoo going is a type of “tourist gaze.” Why do we enjoy looking at places,

animals, or things?People like watching

mating, eating: why?The role of

spectator is the role of power

Are animals entitled to privacy?

ZOO GOING AS VOYEURISM

End up in circusesSold to canned hunting ranches

Sold to roadside zoos

Used for experiments

Sold as petsSurplus is destroyed

WHAT HAPPENS TO (SOME) ANIMALS IN ZOOS

MARINE MAMMAL PARKSMARINE MAMMAL PARKS

•Marine mammal parks are relatively recent inventions: the first park, Marine Studios, opened in 1938 in St. Augustine, Florida.•Marine mammal parks differ from most zoos in that they make animals perform for the public rather than promoting their observation in their enclosures. •Like the zoo industry, marine mammal park advocates state that keeping marine mammals like whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions captive provides education to the public, allows scientists to gain information about the animals, and aids world conservation efforts. •Dolphins, like pandas or other especially cute animals, are especially effective at conveying the conservation message because of their perceived friendliness

PLUSES AND MINUSESPLUSES AND MINUSES

•They educate the public about wild animals, teaching conservation•Some do captive breeding•They study the animals’ behavior•The animals are bored and stressed and unhealthy•They live in unnatural conditions, and are deprived of their large kin groups and natural activities like swimming for hundreds of miles per day•Like zoo animals, most marine mammals in captivity were wild caught, which involves killing many other animals.

WHAT ZOO GOERS SAYWHAT ZOO GOERS SAY

•Zoo goers support animal welfare, especially for certain animals, like marine mammals•Over 90% of zoo goers want zoos to play a role in saving wild animals•Over 90% of zoo goers think zoos play a role in saving wild animals•Over 90% of zoo goers think children will learn more about wild animals than in school or on TV, and will develop concern for wild animals by visiting zoos

WHAT ZOO GOERS WANTWHAT ZOO GOERS WANT

•Zoo goers want to see animals, as closely as possible, and want to see them doing something•Zoo goers become bored if they can’t see them doing something•So the most naturalistic enclosures are actually contrary to zoo goers’ desires. Who wins—the animals or the visitor?•The average visitor spends thirty seconds to two minutes per enclosure and most visitors don’t read the labels attached to these enclosures, which indicates that there’s very little educational information being conveyed. •Stephen Kellert’s research indicates that zoo-goers remain poorly educated about animals and their plight. •In a recent study, researchers discovered that people ignored signs, complained when apes were resting, and fabricated answers to children’s questions about the animals.

CIRCUSESCIRCUSES

Most circuses contain a mix of human and animal acts. Animal acts include old-fashioned equestrian events, wild animal acts, and a variety of trained elephant acts, which continue to remain the biggest crowd-pleasers and the biggest money-makers for modern circuses.

TRAINING CIRCUS ANIMALSTRAINING CIRCUS ANIMALS

During the early days of the circus, trainers threatened, whipped, and beat animals in order to get them to perform.

Today, some circus trainers use positive methods of training, but former circus employees and undercover videos shot by animal rights groups show that some circuses use food deprivation, intimidation, and physical and emotional punishment to train animals to perform tricks; video footage shows elephants being whipped and shoved with bull hooks and electric prods.

Elephants and other circus animals are caged or “picketed” (which means chaining one front and one rear leg to a cable or chain) for most of their lives when they are not performing, and many respond to life in captivity by demonstrating stereotypic behaviors like weaving and rocking, which are associated with captivity-related stress.

Training baby elephants at Ringling Brother’s breeding center in Florida. Photos taken by one of the trainers, Sam Haddock.

Some animals respond to this stress by killing their trainers. In the United States alone, there have been twenty-eight deaths due to elephant attacks since 1983.

WHERE CIRCUS ANIMALS COME FROMWHERE CIRCUS ANIMALS COME FROM

Like zoo animals, circus animals were, and often still are, caught as babies by animal collectors and hunters.

Jumbo, the famous Barnum circus elephant, was caught by a German hunter who killed Jumbo’s mother, and wrote, “She collapsed in the rear and gave me the opportunity to jump quickly sideways and bring to bear a deadly shot, after which she immediately died. Obeying the laws of nature, the young animal remained standing beside its mother.… Until my men arrived, I observed how the pitiful little baby continuously ran about its mother while hitting her with his trunk as if he wanted to wake her and make their escape.”

Ringling Brothers runs the Center for Elephant Conservation, an elephant captive-breeding program in Florida. They have bred twenty Asian elephants, all of whom are used to supply Ringling’s two touring units with elephants. Other circuses buy elephants from dealers who pay poachers to catch them.

HORSE RACINGHORSE RACING

The ancient Greeks and Romans held chariot races using horses.

Betting has accompanied horse racing for thousands of years, thus providing profit not only to those people involved in breeding, training, or racing the animals but also to the general public.

Horse racing is most commonly practiced in the form of thoroughbred racing, where wealthy owners of finely bred horses hire trainers and jockeys to race them. Horses race are held in the United States on a variety of tracks and at a variety of distances, usually from nine hundred meters to a mile and a half per race.

Thoroughbred breeding and horse racing is a multibillion dollar industry. Training a thoroughbred can cost $22,000 per year, stud fees for top stallions can start at $25,000 and go up to $500,000, and top racing horses can cost up to $10 million.

HORSE RACINGHORSE RACING

What happens when a racing horse’s career is over?

A winning stallion like Barbaro will usually be put up to stud when he is retired, and the most successful horses can hope to live a life of leisure once retired.

But thousands of horses, most of whom will never win a race, are bred each year. Most horses will see their careers end after just a season or two and will be sold at auction—sometimes to people who want them as pets, sometimes to businesses like horseback-riding outfits, and sometimes to slaughter. In 2006, three foreign-owned slaughterhouses in Illinois and Texas killed 100,800 American horses, exporting their meat to Europe. In 2007, the last of the American horse slaughterhouses were closed.

DOG RACINGDOG RACING

Greyhound racing, the oldest and most popular of dog races, has its origins in “coursing,” an ancient activity in which hunters used hounds to chase and bring down animals such as hares, rabbits, foxes, and deer.

People attend dog races in 16 states, both for the thrill of the race as well as the hope of winning.

Dog racing is a less-lucrative industry than horse racing, but it has the potential to bring in big dollars: 3.5 million fans bet $3.5 billion in 1992, the year the sport was at its peak. Since then, attendance has been down but revenue still tops $1 billion a year.

DOG RACINGDOG RACING

More than 1,500 breeding farms breed nearly 30,000 dogs every year for this sport.

Breeding greyhounds live stacked in kennels either outdoors or in barns, with no exercise, no toys, and no life outside of the cage. Racing dogs live in small kennels during their life off the track; sometimes as many as a thousand dogs live at each track.

While the dogs’ lifespan is more than 12 years, they stop racing after three to five years. Some dogs are returned to the breeding farms on which they were born, spending the rest of their lives as breeders. Owners or track operators kill some dogs outright—probably 30,000 per year “go back to the farm.” But because the killing takes place behind the scenes, it is tolerated by society.

ANIMAL FIGHTINGANIMAL FIGHTING

Blood sports were popular in ancient Rome, Imperial Japan and China, and Southeast Asia, and included everything from cricket fighting in China to cockfighting in Southeast Asia, to gladiator events in which animals were pitted against animals, people against people, and animals against people. Europe from the Middle Ages to the modern era saw a variety of blood sports, including dog fighting, bear baiting, and bull fighting. Many of these practices were banned during the Victorian Era in Europe, in some cases because of growing concerns about animal welfare, but in other cases because of concerns about the impact of such practices on their practitioners.

Blood sports such as dogfighting and cockfighting are illegal in every state today, yet, in isolated rural areas and even inner cities these activities are growing in popularity.

DOG FIGHTINGDOG FIGHTING

Dogfighting involves placing two viciously trained dogs in an enclosure, where they fight until one is too injured to continue and quits the fight due to extreme pain or severe exhaustion, or until one dies. Surviving dogs suffer horrific injuries, and losing dogs are ripped apart, or killed by their owners if not killed in the ring. At a dogfight, more than a hundred people may place bets up to $50,000. About 250,000 dogs—mostly pit bulls—are victims every year. It's estimated that at least 40,000 people across the country either own or breed pit bulls for fighting.

Dog fighting can be seen as a symbolic expression of southern working class masculinity; the dogs are reflections of their owners’ prowess. This is why losing dogs (curs) must be killed; because they bring shame on the owners and reflect poorly on their own masculinity. Plus killing them brings a violent end to a nonviolent life. For these dogmen, dogfighting is the primary opportunity to validate their masculinity in a society that does not value it.

COCKFIGHTINGCOCKFIGHTING

Cockfighting involves placing two specially bred and trained "gamecocks" together in a pit and betting on the winner. Cockfighters, or “cockers,” usually attach razor-sharp knives or ice-pick-like gaffs to the birds' legs to injure and mutilate opponents. Birds often suffer from lacerations, eye injuries, punctured lungs, and broken bones. Like dogfights, cockfights often end in death, although some animals are forced to fight again and again.

BULLFIGHTINGBULLFIGHTING

Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and several Latin American countries, in which one or more bulls are ritually killed in a bullring as a public spectacle. Supporters of bullfighting argue that it is a culturally important tradition and a fully developed art form on par with painting, dancing and music.

Garry Marvin argues that it is symbolic of the opposition between nature and civilization, and force and intelligence, with the bullfighter (culture) conquering the bull (untamed nature) in the ring (culture) by the use of his intelligence, over the bull’s force. Further taming the animal are the banderillas “decorating” the bull before he is killed.

Wild animal TV shows and documentaries

Internet videos

Ecotourism (for the rich)

Whale watching

ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF WATCHING ANIMALSALTERNATIVE WAYS OF WATCHING ANIMALS