Animals are usually chained up and beaten into submission. In circuses the animals are forced to perform up to 50 weeks out of the year. They are coerced with whips and bullhorns. Between shows they are given almost no room to move around. It they cannot be “trained” then they are killed or sold to laboratories. When they are too old or sick to perform, they are also either killed or sold to laboratories.

Animals can also be treated violently in the open for the sake of entertainment. In events such as bullfights, bulls are usually sickened to give “competitors” a fighting edge. In rodeos young calves are often used. In all rodeos animals are manhandled, usually to the point of being permanently injured and then sold to slaughterhouses.

Like us, animals in zoos have no desire to be kept in captivity on display for others to see. Many animals at zoos are wild-caught, or the children of wild-caught animals. No zoo, no matter how much it invests, can adequately provide any animal with the habitat it needs to be happy and free.

Fortunately, there is no need to financially support cruelty to animals in order to enjoy them. There are many animal sanctuaries around the country where you can visit and interact with animals that have been rescued from situations of abuse – Farm Sanctuary and Chenoa Manor (near West Chester, PA) are two examples. State and national parks teem with wildlife, and we are offered more travel options to different ecosystems than any generation before us. Not to mention the incredible amount of information and imagery that can be gleaned from television stations like Animal Planet and National Geographic, books, and magazines.

Please teach your child the most important lesson when it comes to animals: compassion and respect.