Wildlife. Not Entertainers

Unnatural behaviours

A “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for you is a lifetime of suffering for them. Often these animals exhibit stereotypical—abnormal and repetitive­­—behaviour from their lives in captivity. These repetitive motions are a sign of psychological distress in animals and include but are not limited to: elephants swaying back and forth while bobbing their heads; dolphins swimming in repetitive circles in tiny tanks; big cats pacing back and forth in enclosures too small; and orcas and other cetaceans beaching themselves on performance platforms or gnawing on and ramming into gates.

Not only are these stereotypical behaviours not seen in wild animals, the tricks animals in captivity are forced to perform are completely unnatural to them. Elephants don’t walk tight ropes in the wild. Bears don’t dance. Dolphins don’t tail walk.

In captive marine parks, cetaceans are often out of the water waiving their pectoral fins or raising their caudal fin (tail) for selfies. Because whales and dolphins evolved to live underwater, beaching themselves as a photo prop puts a tremendous amount of weight on their organs and can lead to serious health issues.

Wild animals need you

Without you, who do wild animals have to speak up for them? From signing petitions and making pledges to educating yourself and those around you, there are so many actions you can take to better the lives of wild animals around the world. Let's end cruel animal entertainment together.

Join the movement to protect wild animals

Separated from families

Animals abused in the entertainment industry are often separated from their families. Many dolphins living in marine parks around the world were captured from the wild and separated from their pods. Others have been bred in captivity and sold or “loaned” to different marine parks to breed more animals for the industry.

Tiger and lion cubs are taken from their mothers (sometimes at just a month old) and are constantly chained or left in small, barren cages for tourists to handle and hug for selfies. Some big cat facilities drug the animals when they get older so tourists can snap the perfect selfie. When captive-bred lions grow too old for tourists to hug and hold but are still young, the animals are sometimes viciously retrained for “walk with lions” experiences. When they become unmanageable, they are abandoned or discarded at roadside zoos.

Elephants in the entertainment industry are taken from their mothers, beaten, and endure ongoing physical and psychological abuse during training when they’re young. Our Taken For A Ride study noted that captive elephants are primarily taken from the wild, although in some countries—including the United States­­—they are bred in captivity.

Horrific training techniques ensure the animals are submissive enough to perform tricks, spend their long lives chained, and continuously give rides to paying tourists. Bullhooks (sharp training tools used to hit or stab elephants) remind the elephants of their abusive training and human dominance.