Animals in Sport and Entertainment Helen Stoddart SUMMARY. The publications presented in this chapter cover a variety of animal sports (dog racing, bull fighting, rodeos, horse shows and horse racing) and entertainment (theatre, film, television, circuses, zoos and aquariums). These texts represent a wide view of current research, opin- ion and debate on the use of animals in these areas. [Article copies avail- able for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <[email protected]> Website: <http://www. HaworthPress.com> 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.] KEYWORDS. Circuses, dog and horse racing, animals in film, rodeos, zoos Some of the most impassioned and politicised debates on animal is- sues have been over the use of animals in sports and entertainment. Many opponents of animals in entertainment have posted their ideas on web sites, rather than books. I have listed the most significant of these web sites in this chapter. One reason that protesters prefer the electronic Helen Stoddart is a lecturer in literature and film at Keele University, United King- dom. She is the author of Rings of Desire: Circus History and Representation (Man- chester University Press) and is currently working on a follow-up to this volume focusing on representations of the body in circus fictions. Address correspondence to: Helen Stoddart, 2, Hyndland Avenue, Flat 2/R, Glas- gow, G11 5BW, United Kingdom. [Haworth co-indexing entry note]: “Animals in Sport and Entertainment.” Stoddart, Helen. Co-published simultaneously in The Reference Librarian (The Haworth Information Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc.) No. 86, 2004, pp. 25-36; and: Animals Are the Issue: Library Resources on Animal Issues (ed: John M. Kistler) The Haworth Information Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc., 2004, pp. 25-36. Sin- gle or multiple copies of this article are available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service [1-800-HAWORTH, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EST). E-mail address: [email protected]]. http://www.haworthpress.com/web/REF 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Digital Object Identifier: 10.1300/J120v41n86_03 25 26 ANIMALS ARE THE ISSUE: LIBRARY RESOURCES ON ANIMAL ISSUES media is that this form of communication is easy to update and is acces- sible in much of the world. Since World War II there has been a widespread shift in Western opinion on the rights of animals. This is evident in the recent writings, as shown in this chapter. Broadly speaking, there are three strands of approach to the subject. First, there are many publications that could be characterized as catering to enthusiasts or ‘aficionados’ (a term that is specifically derived from its application to bullfighting devotees) literature. Such works are fre- quently written either by dedicated fans or by former participants in the sport or entertainment. They are often richly-illustrated productions that seek to champion the glory and tradition of a practice, stressing the no- bility and bravery of its human and animal participants. This enthusi- asm is underscored both by nostalgia and by the subtext, spoken or unspoken, that the practice (whether it is bullfighting, rodeo or circus) is perceived to be threatened, or at least eroded, by reform in the modern world. The second category of published work is the less celebratory and more pragmatic history of various kinds of animal exhibition or sports that ignore the ethical and political issues. These tend to focus on key events, meetings and developments. Though these books may prove to be an excellent resource for certain researchers interested in raw infor- mation, the absence of discourse may lead to frustration amongst others. Finally, there is an increasing and highly engaging body of work be- ing produced both by academics and activists that analyses the changing status of animals within post-war Western society and the effects that these shifts may have on the exhibition and performance of animals in the public domain. This type of writing tries to acknowledge how man- kind’s control, ownership and display of animals have seemed to fulfil our desired mastery over the natural world. Writing on zoos, circuses and menageries has also emphasised how these entertainments have showcased colonial expansion, wherein the conquered nations have been indirectly represented through animals that are once decorously exotic but, at the same time, in need of control and containment. De- pending on the position and commitment of the writer, these works of- ten go on to press for reforms, new practices, or even revolutionary changes such as the abolition of whole sports (bull-fighting, zoos and animal circuses have been the most common targets). Probably the most important and vibrant area for this sort of debate has been the zoo, about which there have been a large number of excel- lent publications in the last five years. The debate hinges on the issue of Helen Stoddart 27 whether zoos may be reformed for the benefit of animals, by serving as centres for education and awareness, as well as seeking to preserve en- dangered species. The species is maintained in captivity with a view to reintroducing them into the wild, when the cause of the creature’s threatened extinction has been remedied. Those who oppose zoos alto- gether, however, argue that this is a limited and uncertain practice that may result in inbreeding and mutations (producing a weakened species that is even less likely to survive in the wild) along with breeding diffi- culties, or problems in reintroduction of animals into their habitats. These books provide valuable insights about animals in entertainment because the question of zoos is central to the debate. CIRCUS *Jay, Ricky. Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1998. 356 pp., (0374525706), $25.00. This is an enter- taining, painstakingly researched and beautifully presented book on the history of some of the more bizarre and talented side show entertain- ments in the United States and Europe. There are a few interesting sec- tions on performing animals, along with other aspects of popular culture (vaudeville, menageries, fair-ground attractions and the midway). Very few, if any, people have the resources and the passion for their subject possessed by Jay (more famous as an actor, magician and card trickster) which makes this an essential purchase in this field. *Kiley-Worthington, Marthe. Animals in Circuses and Zoos: Chiron’s World. Harlow, UK: Little Eco-Farms Publishers, 1990. 240 pp., (1872904025), £12.95. This piece of research by the British academic veterinarian, Kiley-Worthington, represents a crucial contribution to the increasingly impassioned debate on the use of animals in the circus. Interestingly, although she was commissioned to write this report by the Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) which has long targeted circuses as suspected places of animal abuse, the or- ganisation was not entirely comfortable that Kiley-Worthington con- cluded that “There was no evidence for cruelty or prolonged pain and suffering during the training of the animals I witnessed.” These contro- versial findings make an interesting counterpoint to Johnson’s (below) and are essential reading for anyone with an interest in the ethical treat- ment of animals in entertainment. *Johnson, William. The Rose-Tinted Menagerie. London: Heretic Books, 1994. 335 pp., (0946097283), $16.95. This is a polemical and 28 ANIMALS ARE THE ISSUE: LIBRARY RESOURCES ON ANIMAL ISSUES committed contribution to the debate on the treatment of animals in zoos and circuses. Johnson spent five years working undercover in a va- riety of zoo, circuses, safari parks and aquariums, and this book-length study details his grim findings. He argues that the maltreatment that he uncovered is a symptom of a broader human insecurity that fuels a de- sire for mastery over the animal and natural world–an essential refer- ence point for anyone with an interest in animal welfare debates. There is also a great deal of related material on animal welfare and rights in entertainment on some key web sites, the best of which are: http://www.animal-rights.com/arsec9q.htm http://www.narn.org/entertainment.shtml http://www.lionden.com/faqs.htm http://www.iridescent-publishing.com/rtmcont.htm http://www.cfhs.ca/GeneralInfo/AboutCFHS/Philosophy/ entertainment.htm http://www.zoocheck.com/programs/entertain/ http://www.petatv.com/circ.html http://www.circuses.com/ http://www.naiaonline.org/body/articles/archives/policy_ animent.htm http://www.spca.bc.ca/community/cc_AnimalsEntertainment.htm THEATRE, TELEVISION AND FILM Baker, Steve. Picturing the Beast: Animals, Identity and Representation. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1993. 248 pp., (0719033772), $19.95. By examining the representation of animals in the media, and especially popular culture (cartoons, films and television) and politics, Baker argues that Anglo-American culture has persistently undermined the status of animals in relation to humans. He claims that this has also legitimised their misuse (in science, entertainment and so on). This book has powerful implications for those involved in issues of animal rights. *Beck, Ken and Clark, Jim. The Encyclopaedia of TV Pets: A Com- plete History of Television’s Greatest Animal Stars. Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 2002. 384 pp., (15585-39816), $19.99. This is the most comprehensive, up-to-date and detailed guide to this subject and would be of invaluable assistance to researchers at any level interested in this subject. Although it focuses on television, the animals (and their Helen Stoddart 29 trainers) represented cover most types of domestic and wild animals. Most of the television programs represented are North American pro- ductions. The range of information provided is very broad and includes production facts, personal recollections, interviews, and plot summa- ries.