Entertainment

1. Identify

Understand how animals are used within entertainment, sport, and leisure, and the welfare implications behind these practices.

Captive attractions

Animals in zoos, aquariums, marine parks, and wildlife attractions may experience:

  • Restriction of natural movement and ranging behaviours

  • Limited opportunities to engage in natural hunting, foraging, or social activities

  • Stress associated with confinement and artificial environments

  • Separation from natural family or social groups

  • Dependence on humans for all aspects of life

  • Physical and psychological stress linked to training or conditioning methods

Animal performances

Animals used in circuses, shows, films, and demonstrations may experience:

  • Training for behaviours that do not occur naturally and methods that rely on coercion, fear, or physical control

  • Stress from unfamiliar environments, bright lights, and unpredictable crowds

  • Frequent transport between locations and conditions that restrict movement and cause distress

  • Confinement when not performing

  • Lifelong confinement outside natural habitats

  • Separation from natural social groups

  • Stress associated with handling and performance expectations

Racing and sporting activities

Animals used in horse racing, greyhound racing, rodeos, and similar activities may experience:

  • Intensive training regimes

  • Risk of injury during competition

  • Physical strain associated with performance demands

  • Pressure to perform for commercial or entertainment purposes

  • Retirement, rehoming, or disposal challenges when no longer competitive

Animal tourism and encounters

Tourist attractions involving direct interaction with animals may involve:

  • Use of animals for photographs, rides, or entertainment

  • Restriction of natural behaviours

  • Frequent contact with large numbers of people

  • Stress caused by handling and close human interaction

  • Welfare standards that vary significantly between operators

2. Reflect

Consider what this means in relation to your own choices.

  • How do I feel knowing some animals may experience stress, confinement, or injury for human entertainment?

  • Have I considered what life might be like from the animal's perspective?

  • Do I view animals primarily as beings with their own interests, or as sources of enjoyment for people?

  • Would I feel differently if I witnessed the training, housing, or transport conditions directly?

  • How much importance do I place on freedom, choice, and natural behaviour for animals?

  • Do my entertainment choices align with my values around compassion and reducing harm?

  • Are there forms of animal entertainment that I feel comfortable supporting? Why?

3. Decide

Consider what steps feel realistic and meaningful for you.

Possible actions:

  • Research animal welfare standards before visiting attractions

  • Choose wildlife experiences that observe animals in their natural habitats

  • Support accredited best-practice sanctuaries and rescue centres rather than performance-based attractions

  • Learn more about the welfare needs of different species

  • Consider alternatives to entertainment that relies on captive or performing animals

  • Discuss animal welfare issues with friends and family

  • Make conscious choices about which attractions, events, and activities you support

  • Continue reflecting on the role animals should play in human entertainment

A man and a monkey sharing a kiss in a busy square with buildings and people in the background.
A llama with a yellow and red halter inside a cage with blue and red bars.
A tiger lying on the ground in an enclosure, with greenery and a concrete wall with metal fencing in the background.
Children looking at a seal through an aquarium glass.
A racehorse with a brown coat and black mane is being prepared, surrounded by blurred people and objects at a racetrack.
An elephant carrying a tourist carriage with three people riding on it through a forested area.