No Animals Were Harmed: The Controversial Line Between Entertainment And Abuse

277 Pages·2011·19.41 MB·English

by  Peter Laufer

6.125 × 9.25 SPINE: 0.813 FLAPS: 3.75
LAUFER
Peter Laufer, PhD, is the award-winning
author of more than a dozen books, includ-
ing the widely praised The Dangerous World EXPLORING THE WAYS
of Butterfl ies, Forbidden Creatures, and Neon
Nevada (all Lyons Press), as well as Wetback WE HAVE USED ANIMALS FOR Following the success of The Dangerous
World of Butterfl ies and Forbidden Creatures,
Nation: The Case for Opening the Mexican-
SPORT AND ENTERTAINMENT investigative journalist Peter Laufer returns
American Border. He is the James Wallace
with his third book in a trilogy that explores
Chair in Journalism at the University of
the way humans interact with animals. The
Oregon School of Journalism and Communi-
“Where is the line that separates animal use from abuse?
attack of a trainer at SeaWorld by a killer
cation. Visit him at peterlaufer.com.
The more I read, the more I observed, the more animals—human and nonhu- whale in February 2010 sparked his examina-
man—I met, the more it seemed to me that a possum was pointing me toward tion of the controversial role animals have
my conclusion. ‘We have met the enemy,’ Pogo taught us, ‘and he is us.’ Even the played throughout the ages in the human
one thing I wanted to promise the reader as I embarked on this project—that no arenas of entertainment and sports.
animals were harmed by me during the writing of this book—proved an impos-
When it comes to using animals for our own
sible task.”
entertainment, Laufer asks: What’s okay and
—From the Prologue what’s not?
Homing pigeons?
THE CONTROVERSIAL LINE BETWEEN
Sled dogs?
Dancing bears?
ENTERTAINMENT AND ABUSE Elephant polo?
Teaching Spot new tricks?
Cover design by Georgiana Goodwin
From the Romans throwing Christians
Cover photographs licensed by Shutterstock.com
Printed in the United States of America to the lions to cock-fi ghting in present-day
California, from abusive Mexican circuses to
the thrills of a Hungarian counterpart, and
from dog training to shooting strays in the
Baghdad streets, Laufer looks at the ways
Lyons Press is an imprint people have used animals for their pleasure.
of Globe Pequot Press US $22.95 / Canadian $24.95 PETER LAUFER, PhD Travel with Laufer as he encounters intrigu-
Guilford, Connecticut ing people and places and contemplates the
www.LyonsPress.coms
LYONS Author of The Dangerous World of Butterfl ies and Forbidden Creatures line that separates animal use from abuse.
PRESS
6.125 × 9.25 SPINE: 0.813 FLAPS: 3.75
LAUFER
Peter Laufer, PhD, is the award-winning
author of more than a dozen books, includ-
ing the widely praised The Dangerous World EXPLORING THE WAYS
of Butterfl ies, Forbidden Creatures, and Neon
Nevada (all Lyons Press), as well as Wetback WE HAVE USED ANIMALS FOR Following the success of The Dangerous
World of Butterfl ies and Forbidden Creatures,
Nation: The Case for Opening the Mexican-
SPORT AND ENTERTAINMENT investigative journalist Peter Laufer returns
American Border. He is the James Wallace
with his third book in a trilogy that explores
Chair in Journalism at the University of
the way humans interact with animals. The
Oregon School of Journalism and Communi-
“Where is the line that separates animal use from abuse?
attack of a trainer at SeaWorld by a killer
cation. Visit him at peterlaufer.com.
The more I read, the more I observed, the more animals—human and nonhu- whale in February 2010 sparked his examina-
man—I met, the more it seemed to me that a possum was pointing me toward tion of the controversial role animals have
my conclusion. ‘We have met the enemy,’ Pogo taught us, ‘and he is us.’ Even the played throughout the ages in the human
one thing I wanted to promise the reader as I embarked on this project—that no arenas of entertainment and sports.
animals were harmed by me during the writing of this book—proved an impos-
When it comes to using animals for our own
sible task.”
entertainment, Laufer asks: What’s okay and
—From the Prologue what’s not?
Homing pigeons?
THE CONTROVERSIAL LINE BETWEEN
Sled dogs?
Dancing bears?
ENTERTAINMENT AND ABUSE Elephant polo?
Teaching Spot new tricks?
Cover design by Georgiana Goodwin
From the Romans throwing Christians
Cover photographs licensed by Shutterstock.com
Printed in the United States of America to the lions to cock-fi ghting in present-day
California, from abusive Mexican circuses to
the thrills of a Hungarian counterpart, and
from dog training to shooting strays in the
Baghdad streets, Laufer looks at the ways
Lyons Press is an imprint people have used animals for their pleasure.
of Globe Pequot Press US $22.95 / Canadian $24.95 PETER LAUFER, PhD Travel with Laufer as he encounters intrigu-
Guilford, Connecticut ing people and places and contemplates the
www.LyonsPress.coms
LYONS Author of The Dangerous World of Butterfl ies and Forbidden Creatures line that separates animal use from abuse.
PRESS
No Animals Were Harmed
NoAnimalsWereHarmed_4ppCS4.indd 1 8/15/11 11:21 AM
Also by Peter Laufer:
Forbidden Creatures
The Dangerous World of Butterflies
¡Calexico!
Hope Is a Tattered Flag (with Markos Kounalakis)
Mission Rejected
Wetback Nation
Exodus to Berlin
Highlights of a Lowlife (editor)
Shock and Awe
Made in Mexico (illustrated by Susan L. Roth)
Wireless Etiquette
Safety and Security for Women Who Travel
(with Sheila Swan Laufer)
Inside Talk Radio
A Question of Consent
Neon Nevada (with Sheila Swan Laufer)
When Hollywood Was Fun (with Gene Lester)
Nightmare Aboard
Iron Curtain Rising
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No Animals Were Harmed
The Controversial Line between Entertainment and Abuse
PETEr LAufEr, PhD
NoAnimalsWereHarmed_4ppCS4.indd 3 8/15/11 11:21 AM
Copyright © 2012 Peter Laufer, PhD
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or trans-
mitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-
copying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests
for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and
Permissions Department, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.
Lyons Press is an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.
“On the Roll” reprinted with permission by Leona Medlin and Richard Price.
Text design: Sheryl P. Kober
Project editor: Julie Marsh
Layout: Melissa Evarts
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
ISBN 978-0-7627-6385-6
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The author and publisher of this book do not have any rela-
tion to the American Humane Association, which operates
the “No Animals Were Harmed”® certification program.
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As The Shirelles doo-wopped:
This is dedicated to the one I love,
Sheila

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The tank came in and pushed the wall over and
you see what’s in there. And all it is, is a bunch of
chickens.
—Debra Ross, after watching Maricopa County
sheriff’s deputies raid her neighbor’s house, arrest
him on suspicion of cockfighting, and euthanize
over a hundred of his birds.
NoAnimalsWereHarmed_4ppCS4.indd 6 8/15/11 11:21 AM
Contents
Prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Chapter One: Swim with Dolphins! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter twO: Whale as Sushi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Chapter three: Ted Nugent Is My Blood Brother . . . . . . . .11
Chapter FOur: Searching for a Louisiana Cockfight . . . . . . .19
Chapter Five: Cockfighting as Sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Chapter Six: Destroying the Village to Save It . . . . . . . . . . .38
Chapter Seven: The Charge of an Animal Rights Brigade . . .44
Chapter eight: The Cowardice of Canned Hunts . . . . . . . .49
Chapter nine: Infiltrating Cockfights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Chapter ten: Art as Animal Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Chapter eleven: Who Would Abuse a Swan? . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Chapter twelve: The Self-Taught Lion Tamer . . . . . . . . . . .76
Chapter thirteen: Yes, He Really Does Stick
His Head in the Mouth of a Lion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
Chapter FOurteen: Dead Chickens without a Fight . . . . . . .93
Chapter FiFteen: The Nemesis of Cajun Cockfighters . . . . .101
Chapter Sixteen: From Central Park Horse Carriages
to Ants on the Kitchen Counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Chapter Seventeen: Who Is Abusing Whom? . . . . . . . . . . .113
Chapter eighteen: Saving Chickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Chapter nineteen: Dominion over Every
Creeping Thing That Creepeth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Chapter twenty: Sea Turtle Cowboy Boots . . . . . . . . . . . .126
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Contents
Chapter twenty-One: Cockfight First Responders . . . . . . .130
Chapter twenty-twO: Cricket Fighting for Science . . . . . .142
Chapter twenty-three: A Jordanian Princess
Changes Arabian Horses Mid-Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Chapter twenty-FOur: A Jailhouse Meeting
with a Militant Vegan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Chapter twenty-Five: Stoic Arson Victims
Reopen Their Sheepskin Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Chapter twenty-Six: Humane Meat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
Chapter twenty-Seven: Dairy Cow Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
Chapter twenty-eight: The Animal Lawyer . . . . . . . . . . .202
Chapter twenty-nine: Vivisection Dissected . . . . . . . . . . .208
Chapter thirty: What’s Right and What’s Wrong? . . . . . . .212
Chapter thirty-One: Sit, Stay, Roll Over . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
Chapter thirty-twO: Fighting Cocks Rescued
and Euthanized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218
Chapter thirty-three: The Case for a
Kill-It-Yourself Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224
Chapter thirty-FOur: Las Vegas Epiphany . . . . . . . . . . . .232
Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
viii
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