Use of Animals

6th

I'm sure its not something done by anyone here (or by many people in this day and age) but what do you make of the use of animals in performances?

I've been reading a bit about this lately and some of the practices are horrific. Dissolving fish in acid, pushing pins into them, crushing birds, chickens being electrocuted (weird I know!).

Apart from killing smaller animals the cruelty and lack of respect some people show towards animals is just nuts.

The near-fatal mauling of Roy Horn (of Siegfried & Roy fame) makes it clear that no amount of training can remove the instincts from these dangerous exotic animals. Countless big cats, frustrated by their foreign and unsuitable environments, have attacked and seriously mauled trainers and members of the public. Just last month, a tiger attacked a 14-year-old boy at a fair in Florida and then turned on the handler. The tiger wasn't subdued until two police officers shot the animal with stun guns.

I'm an animal lover but I dont presume all magicians, circuses etc are mistreating their animals - of course ideally they'd all be in the wild running free.

oeb

I don't use animals, but then again I am a close up preformer, and I can't fit a tiger in my jacket pocket. I must say though, I am very very tempted to add a goldfish production to my routine.


It also worth noting, most of your information will be out of date. There is a big difference between what you could get away with then, and what you can now. Don't forget. Animal cruelty is a crime.

6th

Oh I know there are more laws to protect the animals, thanks Christ. Sure there was a guy on this forum asking about doves before and his attitude stank - he was probably a troll though.

zuroph

The goldfish production is one everyone would like to try once i think. what annoys me more is geek magic where the goldfish are clearly treated as disposable for the purposes of magic/comedy.

oeb

zuroph wrote: »

The goldfish production is one everyone would like to try once i think. what annoys me more is geek magic where the goldfish are clearly treated as disposable for the purposes of magic/comedy.

Haa haa, you know most of them don't use real goldfish right?

zuroph

i've studied a bit of geek magic yes, but some ones ive seen have definitely used real. either way, a goldfish production is all fine talking about, but what happens after, when ur in a nightclub with a glass with a goldfish in it?!? lol

6th

oeb wrote: »

Haa haa, you know most of them don't use real goldfish right?

The fact is some do ... and every 2 seconds the poor fish thinks "sh1t! I've got a pin in me!