By Jennifer O’Connor
What do Ferris wheels, Ginsu knives and the Beach Boys all have in common? They are all staples on the state and county fair circuit. But the midway is also replete with cruel animal displays like big-cat photo ops, petting zoos, pony turnstiles, elephant and camel rides and more. Life for these animals is anything but fun and games.
Elephants and camels are meant to roam far and wide—not spend their days confined to transport trailers and cramped display pens. Booths shilling the “world’s largest rat” (usually one of two South American mammals called nutrias and capybaras) subject animals to the ridicule and distain that was once reserved for physically disabled people and human albinos in medieval “freak shows.” Goldfish, rabbits and hermit crabs given away as prizes are more likely to end up in a garbage can than in a loving home. Ponies are excluded from protection by the federal Animal Welfare Act, and if local authorities don’t intervene, they can literally be ridden until they drop. And no one mentions to fairgoers that the goats, chickens and cows shown in 4-H and agricultural displays are destined for slaughter.
Tiger cub photo booth operators perpetually breed big cats so that they will have an endless supply of cuddly cubs to attract paying customers. When the cubs outgrow their “cuteness,” they are dumped at roadside zoos or left to languish in cramped cages for the rest of their lives. Some don’t even make it that far. Four tiger cubs, only days old, traveling with exhibitor Marcus Cook’s Zoo Dynamics died at a Duluth, Minnesota, fair. Three 11-day-old tiger cubs died while being used in photo sessions in Craig Perry’s Exotic Animal Petting Zoo. Although Perry knew the cubs were sick, he provided them no veterinary care whatsoever.
Allowing exotic animals and people to interact is also extremely dangerous. A 5-year-old boy suffered severe facial cuts and required both plastic surgery and rabies shots after being attacked by a tiger cub at the North Dakota State Fair while having his photo taken with the animal. A 3-year-old girl was injured after an elephant she was riding at the New York State Fair tossed her off and kicked the handler. Scores of adults and children have been seriously injured. There have been three incidents in the last few days alone in which captive tigers attacked workers, including one experienced animal handler. Why would parents expose their children to such great risk?
The logistics of getting from place to place on a tight schedule do not allow for downtime to let stressed animals rest or recuperate. The animals are continually carted from one fair to the next and are treated with little more care than rigging or equipment. Veterinarians do not travel in these caravans, and most small-town venues don’t have a vet with expertise in exotic animals. Animals who are ill or injured often go untreated.
It’s impossible to know how many animals suffer and die en route because the caravans are constantly on the move, and for the most part no one is watching. The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees traveling animal shows, but with fewer than 100 inspectors covering the country, it’s virtually impossible to regularly monitor these exhibitors.
Fairs have plenty of ways to entertain visitors without exploiting animals. If you go to your local fair, by all means hit the bumper cars, take in a three-legged race and gorge on funnel cakes and cotton candy—but turn your back on the tawdry animal promotions. Someday in the near future, we will look back on today’s cruel animal displays with nothing but condemnation.
Jennifer O’Connor is an animals in entertainment campaign writer with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
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