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Brooklyn Pierce
Mrs. Smart
Research Essay
February 24, 2014
Would You Like to Live Behind Glass?
Clyde, the orangutan who starred with Clint Eastwood in the 1982 movie, Every Which
Way You Can, was allegedly beaten during the movies filming. Clyde died and an autopsy
revealed that he had died of a cerebral hemorrhage, which some say may have been caused by
repeated blows to the head. PETA claims that Clydes alleged abuse is not a one-time incident.
Ingrid Newkirk, cofounder of PETA, writes: Whistle-blowers from films and filmed
advertisements have complained of animals collapsing from the heat of the bright arc lights,
being deprived of food, being prodded and goaded, and being scared by the clipboard or gunfire.
Abuse can be as subtle as forcing cats to stay awake for hours so as to be able to get them to fall
asleep on cue, or the use of a tie-down, an invisible filament wrapped around an animals
waist and attached to an unseen anchor. Newkirk claims that abuse such as this occurs despite the
fact that AHA regulations prohibit it. (66) AHA being the American Humane Association has
numerous rules and regulations regarding animals rights and inhumane treatment. The example
above is just one out of thousands of instances where similar things have happened to animals.
And they will continue to happen unless we all realize how horrible it is. The treatment of
innocent animals has to change.

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Not only are animals mistreated on film and television sets but in places most people
never think of, zoos. Most Americans would agree that humans must protect wild animals from
extinction, which is true. But a big debate is what is humane and what isnt? Zoos have
regulations they are strictly enforced to follow. These regulations often go beyond animals basic
needs. The AZA, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, guidelines include regulations
that are meant to enrich the animals lives. For example, the AZA requires that zoos provide
elephants a water source, such as a waterfall, so that the elephants are able to bathe themselves.
Because of the AZAs regulations and focus on enriching animals lives, zoos have developed
more natural exhibits. (78) Although these regulations and guidelines help the animals, they also
raise some concern. When a wild animal such as a lion or gorilla are caged up, away from their
families, and not provided the exercise needed for a healthy lifestyle, the animals often develop
psychological issues regarding the fact that they are locked up with nothing to do. A lion in the
African desert roams for miles a day, catches its own kill and fends for itself. A lion in captivity
is handed food and has a very limited space to roam. The lions get bored and start to stress.
Critics point out that since only ten percent of zoos are members of the AZA, the remaining
ninety percent, unless they are members of another zoo organization, do not need to abide by
regulations to help alleviate animals boredom. (81)
So whats the point of having all of these beautiful creatures in every city when with a
click of a button, you can see it on the internet. Most animals are not endangered and the ones
that are will never be released into their wild habitat. Money spent on zoo ticket purchases pay
for animals to be imprisoned and traded, not rescued and rehabilitated. Zoos continue to capture
animals from the wild to put on display and are pressuring the federal government to weaken the
Endangered species act to make it easier for them to capture and import animals. Zoos routinely

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trade, loan and barter adult animals they don't want anymore. Years ago when these wild animals
were only seen on their natural habitats zoos were interesting but now their probably isnt a
person n the planet that doesnt know what a zebra looks like. Instead of having zoos in every
major city, there should just be a few good ones around the country that have the animals best
interest in mind, not the viewing public.
Another place animals are mistreated is in parks such as Seaworld where the
dolphins and killer whales perform shows every day. Orcas should not be held captive in a place
that only uses them for the benefit of humans. Yes the whales and dolphins are beautiful and fun
but they shouldnt be kept in a fishbowl at night only to be forced to perform a show every day.
Watching the documentary Blackfish really opened peoples eyes to the harsh reality of
animals in entertainment. In the documentary, ex-trainers talk about how Seaworld would try to
cover up how the animals were being treated and convince them that this was what had to be
done. The trainers didnt think anything bad was happening until it was too late. In the beginning
of the documentary, it shows how the whales are captured. A clip of hunters taking a young orca
away from its mother are in the first moments in the film. Whales are very emotional and family
based animals. After the baby orca is in the straps on the boat the mother whale and all the other
whales in the group follow the boat. All the people can hear is the mother orca screaming for her
baby. Most people didnt know that when a male whales dorsal fin if flapped over it is a sign of
great emotion stress; Seaworld covers up the fact that their entire male whale groups fins are like
that, by saying that is normal and thousands of males fins are bent over in the wild. But in fact
less than one percent of males fins are like that in the pacific. Working with The Orca Project,
Drs. Ventre and Jett documented stressors such as confinement to small, shallow pools, lack of
social interaction, whale-to-whale aggression, and inadequate medical care, and they drew a

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direct link between captive orcas abysmal living conditions and the whales desperate acts of
aggression toward humans. According to Ventre and Jetts calculations, captive orcas life spans
are cut drastically short, down to a median age of just 9 years compared to the 30- to 50-year
average life expectancy of orcas in the wild. The orcas in Seaworld are so big they need to be in
bigger tanks. The tanks they are put in arent even big enough for them to turn around in. they
need space to move. In some parks the killer whales are put in with other whales in these small
cages, and they fight. They become agitated and take it out on their trainers, whom they have had
a close relationship with from the beginning. Since the whales are being confined in these small
cages and fed only when they do what they are told it eventually leads to them going insane and
having severe psychological problems.
The idea that we are all born with rights, such as life, power of choice and happiness are
the main aspects of our daily lives. However, many of us humans inconsiderately forget that
animals also deserve these equal rights also. Animals are entitled to a painless, content life in
their own natural environments. These animals dont deserve to be locked in cages with people
gawking at them all day. Being on the grasslands of Africa or the frozen miles of Antarctica, and
everywhere in between is where these animals need to be. Instead, theyre spending their last
days as prisoners for us humans to look at.
The animals are here to be in their natural habitats. A zoo can never be thought of as
educational. A human being can never learn anything about a wild animals observing it in a state
that their behavior is controlled and depressed. Wild animals are required to have human
interaction. This is the ultimate disrespect of the species. Their eyes hold a lifetime of sadness
and emptiness as they are stared at, aggravated by camera flashes and taunted. Shame on the
human race for finding this acceptable.

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For the people who support Zoos and parks for animals, just think about how you would
feel if you were stuck behind glass or chains for your entire life. Humans do crimes to be put
behind bars, animals are innocent. They have no say in what we do. It is just morally right that
we respect the wild animals of this earth and leave them alone.

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Work Cited

Currie-McGhee, L.K. Lucent Overview Series Animal Rights (2005): 63-86

Ex-SeaWorld Trainers Expose Orca Abuse. PETA, January 25, 2011. February 25, 2014
http://www.peta.org

Fagerlund,Richard The Rights of Animals Zoos Are Unnecessary and Should be Discontinued
(2003) 182-184