Hopefully by now you’ve seen what was an extremely shocking video of an animal trainer on the set of “A Dog’s Purpose” shoving a German Shepherd into turbulent water for filming. The most shocking part of the video is towards the end, where the German Shepherd is shoved by the artificial waves into a wall at the end of the wave pool and goes out of sight, under the water and the artificial waves. Due to the widespread publicity and outrage towards this video on social media, thanks to TMZ, it has been reported that the premiere for “A Dog’s Purpose” has been cancelled.
While this is an extremely awesome victory, and all movies featuring animals such as “Marley & Me” and “Air Bud” have reportedly mistreated their animals on set, too, it’s only a small step in the right direction. If celebrities and TMZ can step in on behalf of a mistreated dog, why can’t we do the same for the thousands of giraffes, elephants, monkeys and several other animals that rot away in cinder block cells at zoos all over the world?
It’s not impossible. When the critically-acclaimed documentary “Blackfish” came out, celebrities and social media stars stepped in on behalf of Tilikum and other whales that had been mistreated and stolen from their natural environments to live their lives in cement pools at SeaWorld parks all over the country. Due to the outrage this movie caused, SeaWorld has ceased their breeding programs and theatrical shows to opt for more natural encounters with whales and other animals in their care.
If we can do this for these animals, why can’t we do it for animals that are stolen from their natural environments everyday to be housed in man-made cells at zoos all over the country? Whenever someone posts yet another picture at Zoo Lights for Christmas and New Years, my stomach turns. I know it’s a lot to ask people to think of how your ticket money at this establishments is being spent, but you have to understand the impact of your ten dollars on the animals who only want to be free.
All animals in captivity have a bad life, they are all emotionally damaged. They are stolen from their families and forced to live out their lives in places they would never even see naturally. While some of these animals were born in captivity and know no other life, they can be moved to one of the zoo animal sanctuaries across the nation to live in a place where they are not being showcased or exploited for monetary gain. They can live their lives in what would be their natural environment, while receiving human care, if needed.
If you have been boycotting “A Dog’s Purpose” and the SeaWorld parks, now is also the time to start boycotting zoos and other animal attraction parks, opt for educational institutions that work to maintain sustainability and education on animals in the wild. Don’t wait for a documentary or a TMZ video to tell you what to value, start now and start by not supporting businesses that make their money by exploiting innocent animals that can’t protect themselves.
