Ethical Treatment of Animals

The other night, I watched a disturbing story on CBC’s Fifth Estate called, “Cruel Camera”. This was a disturbing story about animals intentionally put in harms way and abused in film making. It showed one scene of an ape being punched by its trainer that actually brought tears to my wife and I. This practice still goes on today and even those nature shows we watch on discovery channel are staged. Here is the link for the documentary: http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/cruelcamera/

It is really disturbing and sad to think that many well recognized companies use these poor abused animals and discard them after their film is complete; especially chimps in show business. When they reach an age beyond three or four, they are discarded to zoos and road-side establishments where they live in less than desirable conditions.

On another note, I see the circus is coming back to Town. My hope is that someday the City of Summerside will have a licensing permit where a circus has to apply and there be strict rules in place to ensure animals are treated well and the safety of the animals is respected. I will write more on this at another date.