Flying pigs? Maybe not. But they'll jump through hoops of fire
I thought performing animals were the height of cuteness when I headed to Monkey Island off the coast of Nha Trang in Vietnam. In fact, that's why I went. But after watching a bear ride a motorcycle in a Tutu and a spiked metal harness that bent his neck to an impossible degree of discomfort and an elephant that got whipped into standing on a foot stool, I kind of changed my tune. While I'm glad the bear wasn't free to roam and maul us all, it was a pretty heartbreaking. Except for the dogs, every animal that appeared in the show that day was chained and whipped into doing cute but unnatural things. I supposed this has been going on for years, but I guess I didn't notice until now. So I'm not sure what I think about this story about performing pigs in Thailand. Apparently, tigers were too dangerous and unpredictable, but while pigs require a very patient trainer, these ones have been put through the rigors and have have stolen the show. The pigs can dance, pick up tennis balls and jump through flaming hoops, among lots of other things. They won't be stars for long though -- once they become full-grown adults, they become too fat to perform, and go to live in the zoo (really!)
Sounds cute -- sans metal shackles, of course.
Filed under: Activism, Arts and Culture
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Oct 28th 2007 @ 11:16PM
Renee' said...
These animals are being abused and exploited and will continue as long as people finance this thru their donations and attendance at such events. The best way to end this is by boycotting such functions and writing to the government of such places to put an end to this before the American dollars will be spent there.
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Oct 28th 2007 @ 11:22PM
jsb said...
And God told you this over coffee????? Too bad you can't spell cruelty...
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Oct 28th 2007 @ 11:24PM
Patti said...
anyone who participates in animal cruely will go to hell, says God!!!
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Oct 28th 2007 @ 11:59PM
Debra said...
It is not so surprising that animals continue to be forced into slavery for the sake of entertainment that the owner makes money off of. Animals do not perform 'stunts' willingly. Anyone who thinks so probably believes Cinderrella is a historical figure. You better believe that when these animals misbehave or rebel against their chained-up lives, or fall down from exhaustion and pain, they will be beaten, tortured, and killed. Yet it seems that just like people in the 3rd world who have a tremendous appetite for the consumption of live animals, people in the 1st world also have a relentless appetite for performing animals of all kinds, dancing bears, leaping tigers, pitbull fights, cockfights, dogracing, horseracing, camelracing, and on and on. These same people, I'm sure, also enjoy bloody prizefighting amongst humans. These very pictures say more than words, and it is our responsibility to caretake this planet and every living thing on it, not to abuse and kill for our purposes. Pulitzer-Prize winning author Alice Walker has said "the animals of the world exist for their own reasons."
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Oct 29th 2007 @ 12:17AM
jewliee said...
I like bacon
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Oct 29th 2007 @ 12:35AM
Rene said...
Animal exploitation and animal cruelty have no place in a civilized society.
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Oct 29th 2007 @ 11:19AM
Bobby G said...
This is just too stupid to comment on.
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Oct 29th 2007 @ 11:20AM
sean said...
all these morons worrying about abuse of animals but silent about murder of millions of babies!
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Oct 29th 2007 @ 11:21AM
Rene said...
Animals cannot speak for themselves. It is up to human beings to protect them from other human beings who want to exploit them.
Whenever a human being or animal is exploited or treated cruelly, those who are aware of this have a moral obligation to do what they can to put an end to such actions.
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Oct 29th 2007 @ 11:22AM
ann said...
"these ones" ? aargh! go jump through a ring of fire!
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Oct 31st 2007 @ 10:49PM
McKee Hamilton said...
The pigs are so cute and having a ball. Fire is always one of the fun things one ordinarily observes animals enjoy. Well, well, there was cuelty on display, too. Strained positions, beatings, infliction of pain in plain view. Hope you enjoyed your evening by separateing the levels of exploitation and horror these animal live in 24 hours a day until they die, bewildered and friendless or are killed or wait a moment ..of course, how naive of me, they happily retire to a fun zoo!
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