One of the most talked about topics involving animals lately is the use of orcas by companies like Seaworld who have been exploiting Killer Whales for many years and have no finally agreed to stop breeding programmes and bring their orca attractions to a gradual end. However whilst the majority of the population support ending this cruelty a lot of similar cases like this are being ignored around the world.
A recent example of this takes us to North Korea where a chimp in a popular zoo has been trained to smoke for the entertainment of visitors there. It is hard in the modern day world to not know of the damages that smoking can cause and these damages are not exclusive to humans;
a smoking mammal will suffer the same health problems as a smoking human.
There are strong arguments for an against zoos in general. Whilst some of them are there for the conservation of animals and do not exploit them most are here for human entertainment and care little for the animals they capture. Azalea the smoking chimp is just one of the many atrocities in zoos all over the globe and while things may be improving for some creatures like orcas there is still a long way to go.
So what can we do?
All companies come under the same blanket of supply and demand. Just like if a food company stops selling a certain item if it isn’t doing well, zoos will stop certain parts of their business or shut down all together if they are boycotted. By simple refusing to pay places like this we are slowly chipping away at it’s future. Another way in which we can help is with social media. A large contributor to the slow halt of the capturing of orcas for entertainment was the internet. It could be argued that without the internet and social media the barbaric treatment of beautiful creatures like orcas would still be going on. With this in mind we can see how the internet and social media can help stop other cases like Azalea. By promoting the boycotting of places that support and make profit from actions like a smoking chimp we not only introduce others to what is happening under our noses but also what we can do to stop it.
How can you help?
www.bornfree.org.uk
www.wwf.org.uk