magic act, Siegfried and Roy, we have been asked the same two
questions by hundreds of people: "What was the tiger really
thinking?" and "Is it humane for animals to be made to perform?" To
the first question all I can say is I don't know. (Who could pretend
to know what any other creature is thinking?)
To the latter question, these are my thoughts:
By definition, inhumane is "lacking and reflecting lack of pity or
compassion." To force one's will upon another for no other reason
than to satisfy our own desire to be amused, or our own gain, is to
lack pity or compassion.
We are the world's largest big-cat rescue, with more than 170 exotic
cats, and 80 percent of them were from the entertainment industry
and former pets. We do something called operant conditioning, in
which the cat is enticed to do things that we need for the animal's
management, such as to come lie against the wire so that we can
check its ears, or to open its mouth so we can check its teeth. It
is a training method that most circus acts purport to use that has
no form of punishment but gives a small food reward if the cat does
the requested performance on command.
I would be the first one to say that these cats shouldn't be in
cages and in need of medical care, but that is another day's debate.
The learning of the tricks is not the heart of the issue. Most
people are not aware that traveling acts are frequently governed
only by USDA regulations stating that the cage need be large enough
only for the animal to stand up and turn around and that the cat
cannot be kept in something smaller than that for more than 60 days.
But each time the cat is taken into the circus ring, the 60-day
clock starts over again. Many of the cats who come to us have
permanent scars on their noses, hips and shoulders from hitting the
sides of their tiny enclosures every time they try to move.
The argument is often made that performing animals get fed regularly
and get medical attention and a home for life (or until they won't
perform anymore), but that would define life in prison to us. Not
too many of us would think ourselves fortunate to be born and bred
into a life of confinement and a life of having to bend our wills to
that of our oppressor. Cats are the top predator and the most
willful of all animals. That is why we are so awed by them and why
so many seek to prove themselves superior by being able to command
an animal far larger and more powerful.
It is easy to point at profit-driven animal industries and say that
they are the bad guys, but it is all a matter of supply and demand.
When people become enlightened they will see that every choice we
make has an impact on the world around us, and that impact will be
good or bad based upon the choice we make.
Socrates said, "A life unexamined is not worth living." When people
truly examine their motives about why they want to see a magnificent
animal in a cage or being made to perform, then their choices will
become more compassionate. When people look beyond their own wants
and desires and seek out the truth about the living conditions of
these animals when they are not in front of the public, then they
will have pity for the creatures.
People are getting smarter, and they are becoming more aware. I
truly believe that 20 years from now people will look back on this
controversial question of today and wonder how anyone could have
thought that treating animals this way was humane.