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Ten Fast Facts about Animals in Entertainment

1. The use of animals as “entertainers” removes animals from their natural habitat; deprives them of the ability to freely engage in instinctual behaviors; often involves cruel training methods; desensitizes both children and adults to animal mistreatment; and does not adequately address the real conservation threats that face animals in the wild.

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2. There is minimal state and federal protection for animals used in entertainment. Many of the animals used for human amusement are not even covered by the federal Animal Welfare Act.
3. While zoos and aquariums may appear to be educational and conservation-oriented, most are designed with the needs and desires of the visitors in mind, not the needs of the animals. Many animals in zoos and aquariums exhibit abnormal behavior as a result of being deprived of their natural environments and social structures.
4. Some zoos and aquariums do rescue some animals and work to save endangered species, but most animals in zoos were either captured from the wild or bred in captivity for the purpose of public display, not species protection.
5. The vast majority of captive-bred animals will never be returned to the wild. When a facility breeds too many animals they become “surplus” and often are sold to laboratories, traveling shows, canned hunting facilities, or to private individuals who may be unqualified to care for them.
6. Horses and cows used in rodeos are abused with electrical prods, sharp spurs, and “bucking straps” that pinch their sensitive flank area. During bucking events, horses and bulls may suffer broken legs or run into the sides of the arena, causing serious injury and even death.
7. During calf-roping events in rodeos, a calf may reach a running speed of 27 miles per hour before being jerked by the neck to an abrupt stop by a lasso. This event has resulted in punctured lungs, internal hemorrhaging, paralysis, and broken necks.
8. Once greyhounds begin their racing careers, they are kept in cages for more than 20 hours a day. The cages are made of wire and are barely big enough for the dogs to turn around. Dogs who are considered too slow to race are often sold to research facilities or killed About 20,000 are killed each year; very few are adopted.
9. Horses used in racing are bred for one purpose: to make money. Because of this motive, horses are often forced to run even when injured. More racehorses are bred than can prove profitable on the racetrack. As a result, hundreds of racehorses are sent to slaughter every year.
10. During a typical cockfighting tournament, one-third to one-half of the birds are killed. Winners as well as losers suffer severe injuries including broken wings, punctured lungs, and gouged eyes.