Tourism and Animals - Entertainment Industry
Methods used to train wild animals to perform against their instincts, involve fear, submission, deprivation and physical punishment. We have to look beyond any kind of entertainment program that involves wild animals and be aware of the living conditions of the animals, the training methods used, as well as the negative educational message provided. Entertainment programs include, for example, dancing bears, snake charmers, circus lions, birds of prey exhibits, dolphinariums.
All kinds of animals are used in a wide variety of entertainment programs; amusement parks, circuses, magic shows, and unfortunately this list goes on and on... Often the animals are forced to perform tricks and copy human behaviors which are totally contrary to their natural instincts. The only way to get a wild animal to perform is by using violence or food rewards. These animals are victims of the worst kinds of abuse and spend their lives isolated or chained. They "perform" because they know perfectly well what happens if they don't! Watching wild animals perform unnatural tricks outside their natural habitats does not teach us anything about them, nor do these entertainment programs help their conservation.
