Animals Used for Entertainment FAQs

“Don’t zoos teach children important lessons about wildlife?”

No, zoos claim to educate people about animals, but small enclosures do not allow animals to display their natural behaviors, and signs typically tell visitors little more than the names of the animals, where they can be found, and what they eat.

Animals’ normal behaviors are seldom discussed—much less observed—at zoos because their natural needs are rarely met in zoo environments. Many animals who live in large herds or family groups in the wild are kept alone or, at most, in pairs at zoos. Natural hunting and mating behaviors are virtually eliminated by regulated feeding and breeding regimens. Animals at zoos lack privacy and have little opportunity for mental stimulation or physical exercise. These conditions cause them to exhibit abnormal, self-destructive behaviors called zoochosis.

Many zoo officials focus on profits rather than the well-being of the animals. A former director of the Atlanta Zoo once remarked that he was “too far removed from the animals; they’re the last thing I worry about with all the other problems.” Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals in captivity, where they are bored, cramped, lonely, far from their natural homes, and at the mercy and whim of people.

Read more about the lives of captive animals at zoos.

“Don't zoos help preserve endangered species?”

Most animals in zoos are not endangered or being prepared for release into natural habitats. In fact, it is nearly impossible to release captive-bred animals into the wild. A report by the World Society for the Protection of Animals showed that only 1,200 out of the 10,000 zoos worldwide are registered for captive breeding and wildlife conservation and that only 2 percent of the world’s threatened or endangered species are registered in breeding programs.

Rather than nurturing animals to thrive in natural settings, zoos place very unnatural restrictions on their residents. For example, in zoos, polar bears are typically confined to spaces that are only one-millionth the size of their minimum home range in the wild. Animals who roam across large distances in nature often exhibit dementia and stereotypical behaviors from boredom when placed in zoo enclosures, endlessly pacing or swimming in circles.

Ultimately, we will only save endangered species by preserving their habitats and protecting them from hunters—not by breeding a few individuals in captivity. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups such as the International Primate Protection League, the Born Free Foundation, and other organizations that work to preserve habitats, and we should also help nonprofit sanctuaries, like The Elephant Sanctuary and the Performing Animal Welfare Society, that rescue and care for exotic animals without selling or breeding them.

Read about elephants who are captured from the wild for zoos.

“Aren't racehorses treated well so that they'll perform better?”

Sadly, for many equine athletes, injury and death are always just a hoofbeat away. One study on racetrack injuries concluded that one horse in every 22 races suffered an injury that prevented him or her from finishing the race, and another study estimated that 800 thoroughbreds die from injuries every year in North America. Over time, selective breeding has made thoroughbreds’ legs far too fragile for their bodies. Most thoroughbreds are owned by corporations that are only interested in the money that the animals can make for them, and such owners don’t hesitate to sell horses to slaughterhouse “kill buyers” when they break down.

Before they are slaughtered, though, many horses are turned into junkies by their trainers and veterinarians, who provide drugs to keep them racing even when they shouldn’t be on the track because of their injuries. Many are forced to run with hairline fractures, which would be too painful without drugs. “There are trainers pumping horses full of illegal drugs every day,” said a former Churchill Downs public relations director. “With so much money on the line, people will do anything to make their horses run faster.”

A New York Daily News reporter remarked, “The thoroughbred race horse is a genetic mistake. It runs too fast, its frame is too large, and its legs are far too small. As long as mankind demands that it run at high speeds under stressful conditions, horses will die at racetracks.”

Read more about the horse racing industry.

“I love seeing animals at the circus, and they don’t seem to mind performing, so why is PETA against the use of animals in circuses?”

In his book, The Circus Kings, Ringling Bros. founder Henry Ringling North noted that at circuses, tigers and lions are “chained to their pedestals, and ropes are put around their necks to choke them down and make them obey. All sorts of other brutalities are used to force them to respect their trainer and learn their tricks. They work from fear.”

He also wrote that trainers commonly break bears’ noses or burn their paws to force them to stand on their hind legs and that monkeys and chimpanzees are struck with clubs while they scream.

The fact is, animals do not naturally ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through rings of fire. To force them to perform these confusing and physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other painful tools of the trade.

We applaud trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, tightrope walkers, and acrobats, but let’s leave animals in peace. Sweden, Denmark, Finland, India, Switzerland, and the U.K. have all banned or restricted the use of animals in entertainment—it’s time for the U.S. to do the same.

Read more about circus cruelty.

“What's wrong with rodeos?”

In order to make them perform, normally docile cows and horses are beaten, kicked, and shocked while they are in their chutes and holding pens. “Bucking broncos” and steers are provoked with electric prods, sharp sticks, caustic ointments, and the pinching “bucking” strap so that the animals are frantic by the time they are released into the arena. Calves, who are roped while they are running, have their necks snapped back by the lasso, which often results in neck and back injuries, bruises, broken bones, and internal bleeding.

After their short and painful “careers,” animals in rodeos are sent to the slaughterhouse. Dr. C.G. Haber, a veterinarian who spent 30 years as a federal meat inspector, described the animals discarded from rodeos for slaughter as being “so extensively bruised that the only areas in which the skin was attached [to the flesh] were the head, neck, leg, and belly. I have seen animals with six to eight ribs broken from the spine and, at times, puncturing the lungs. I have seen as much as 2 to 3 gallons of free blood accumulated under the detached skin.”

Every national animal protection organization opposes rodeos because of their inherent cruelty. Urge your community to buck the rodeo.

Watch undercover video of rodeo abuse.

“Why Should Animals Have Rights?”

Supporters of animal rights believe that animals have an inherent worth—a value completely separate from their usefulness to humans. We believe that every creature with a will to live has a right to live free from pain and suffering. For more information, click here.