Category: Animals in Entertainment

Issues surrounding use of animal in entertainment

Whales injure tourists. Why can’t we leave wild animals in peace.

The fact that these gentle whales were using “classic defensive actions” is proof that they were upset and stressed.

Recently on Ningaloo reef off the north west coast of Australia there have been three incidents in just one week involving tourists being seriously injured while swimming with whales on new organised tours. A 27 year old woman suffered broken ribs and internal bleeding when hit by a humpback whale and had to be flown by Flying Doctor to Perth for treatment. A week later another woman suffered the same fate and there have been other incidents to tourists causing minor injuries. All this because entrepreneurs want to add another extreme tourist attraction to visiting the reef. As if disturbing them by shadowing them with boats is not intrusive enough.

In all these incidents there was no malice on the part of the whales just humans getting in their way and upsetting them and posing a perceived threat to their calves. As one tour operator put it:

“The whale immediately swam straight at the group [of tourists] to place herself between her group and her calf and she then engaged in a number of really classic defensive actions right next to the group including slapping her pectoral fins onto the water and slapping her tail down into the water. Unfortunately when she was doing that one of the swimmers was hit by her tail and another was hit by her pectoral fin less seriously.“ .

Nine News, Perth

These new swimming encounters are being monitored by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions in the Ningaloo Marine Park and will undoubtedly be a great success. They are scheduled to become a permanent licensed industry in 2021 at the completion of a five-year trial and all kinds of regulations, codes of practice and safety procedures are being trialed just so someone can make money out of it, when in fact for the safety and wellbeing of all concerned it would be sensible to ban such ventures. The big question is whether a Government conservation department should be encouraging such ventures.

Child swimming with humpback whale
A young snorkeller swimming with a Humpback and calf. Sensible or irresponsible.

We all want to be a David Attenborough.

It regrettably seems that there are no limits to the lengths we will go to disturb and stress wild animals in their natural habit in our pursuit of getting up close and personal with them. It is a compulsion that appears to be fueled by social media and wanting to emulate the exploits of icons like David Attenborough Steve Irwin and other wildlife presenters, adventurers and celebrities we see on TV. We have this belief that animals only exist to entertain us and have no interests in a life of their own. Everybody wants to get a piece of animals.

Whether it be be swimming with dolphins, aggravating sharks from the safety of cages, disturbing egg laying turtles, damaging coral, having selfies with drugged up tigers, monkeys or snakes, visiting gorillas or riding on elephants, everybody wants a piece of the action. It is on everyone’s bucket list to get up close and personal with an exotic animal and to have a selfie or photograph taken to put on social media despite the stress, suffering and disturbance caused to the animals.

The problem now is that there are too many people wanting to do it and this just encourages more such wildlife encounters to make it easy for us and we selfishly give little thought to the stress or suffering we may be causing. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with wanting to be in the presence of animals but there has to be a compromise and it should be done from a discreet distance and the right reasons. It should be a respectful and personal experience and not to just to get a selfie photograph or to touch the animal. Unfortunately we are reaching a point where we cannot all be a David Attenborough. We can already view marine animals from a boat we do not need to get in the water with them.

Related articles:

Invading their space – animal encounters.
The lure of ‘get up close’ animal attractions
Abusing animals for entertainment is pure showmanship

Buddhism, monks and mixed messages on animal compassion.

Buddhism is viewed by most people as an animal friendly and compassionate religion and therefore it came as shock to many when in the last few years Buddhist monks have been heavily criticised for their alleged involvement in wildlife smuggling and operating petting zoos in their temples. They have been accused of surrendering to contemporary desires and renouncing or ignoring their teachings. This was all in response to the worldwide condemnation of the so-called infamous “tiger temple” near Bangkok in Thailand where monks kept 134 tigers chained and drugged for tourists to feed, stroke and photograph as well as allegedly selling body parts and making millions of dollars. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated case.

Whether they are knowingly involved or not, the presence of monks give credence to these “attractions” and are an added photo opportunity for those misguided tourists who, like the monks, tragically see no harm in them. The monks at the tiger temple believed that they “lived in Buddhist harmony with the tigers” which seems to prove how disengaged they are from their basic teachings of loving kindness.

Caring for street dogs gives Buddhism their compassionate reputation.

But like all religions, Buddhism gives mixed messages in regard to animal well-being which is not necessarily understood.  If you visit any Buddhist temple in Asia you will find dogs and cats wandering the temple grounds or monks feeding visiting troupes of monkeys. It is common practice to see monks keeping, feeding and looking after street dogs and cats and collecting food to feed animals at a local zoo. This is what gives them their compassionate reputation.

But at the same time if you search you will also come across miserable monkeys, birds and reptiles being kept in filthy conditions in tiny cages, often hidden in a compound corner, or a miserable chained elephant. It is a confusing situation.

Buddhism and animal welfare,
How we like to view Buddhist compassion to animals.

Buddhist precepts or oaths do not support the domestication of animals and discourage the practice of keeping pets because they believe it is enslavement and stops them from being able to fend for themselves, but once tamed humans must care for them. This explains their compassion towards dogs and cats. Many Buddhists believe that keeping wild animals as pets breaks the third Precept of deriving pleasure at the expense of other sentient beings and also adds to the endangerment of the natural environment by removing animals from it.

Others interpretit it differently and believe that a human soul can be reborn as an animal for past misdeeds and their souls must continue to be reborn as animals until their bad karma is exhausted, which has led some to view animals as being inferior and justifies their exploitation and mistreatment.

Monkey in buddhist temple
Animals are commonly kept in poor conditions at Buddhist temples in non-observance of their teachings.

Some of their rituals cause animal suffering and detriment to the natural environment such as Fang Sheng which involves catching wild animals and birds and releasing them back into the wild to gain merit. Despite this, Fang Sheng is widely practised throughout the world.

Being a Buddhist monk is not a career for most.

For most Asian monks it is not a life long devotion or career as in western cultures. Most males in Buddhist culture are expected to become a monk at some point in their life either as a novice when a boy or by joining at twenty as a monk. They can prove their commitment to the religion just for a day, a month, a year or in a few cases for life and therefore the ‘short-termers’ may not necessarily be ardent devotees. Many only become a monk as a precursor to marriage because the bride’s parents have insisted on it.

It is therefore not surprising that some of the transient monks might be led astray into nefarious activities when opportunities for financial reward and personal aspirations present themselves. Although some followers may have lost their way and fail to understand the wider moral issues involved in exploiting animals for their own indulgence, there are many who no doubt care for animals. But it would seem that Asian Buddhism urgently needs a little house cleaning in order to maintain its reputation as a true animal friendly religion.

Related articles:

The unnecessary cruelty of Buddhist Fang Sheng.
Tourists abroad risking life and limb.
The lure of ‘get up close’ animal attractions