An annotated bibliography of animal abuse as seen by different cultures from around the world. The research, articles, blogs and websites offer context to how different cultures view the conditions of animal abuse and how the West is starting to influence the views of the East.
Annotated Bibliography Valerie Spears
11/24/2015 - Final
Kajal Aggarwal Exposes Circus Cruelty in PETA Ad [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y58lk75Da_k
1. In this video, done by PETA India, it shows the violence and abuse of circus animals in India. This video also shows graphic material of circus trainers beating animals to get them to perform. The video uses an actress from India to support their argument. The actress says, "As an actor, I perform out of choice, but animals are not given a choice in circuses." 2. PETA is very good at appealing to the pathos of audiences. However, I am weary of what kind of information and b-roll they are providing. I would be interested to see additional research on this subject. I believe this video lacked a logos appeal because it did not provide any statistical facts, which could have helped back up their argument. 3. I think they could have done a better job trying to persuade the audience, who is India's public, by showing better b-roll and providing the statistical research on animal abuse in India’s circuses. 4. In comparison to other media in my research, this advertisement is most appealing to pathos. It does a great job appealing an India audience by using an Indian actress. Having her speak about the abuse and why she supports it makes the video a little more credible than having her say one or two lines like in American advertisement. However, because there is a lack of logos in the video, the video loses some credibility. The b-roll could have come from anywhere. This would not be the best source for information, but does provide context for how the eastern world is viewing animal abuse. 5. This helps my research because it gives me understanding to the importance of also appealing to logos when persuading audiences, especially with such a controversial topic. It is also an interesting video for my topic because it shows how different countries react to animal abuse.
Never Be Silent [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7C_TGFYSp8
1. This video, created by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, explains how people need to speak up against animal abuse. In the video, they use graphic scenes of animals being used and caged by humans inhumanely. 2. PETA backs up their argument by appealing to the pathos and logos of the audience. They appeal to the pathos side of the audience by showing the graphic images that make the audience feel the pain of the animals. Then, by using the facts about people not speaking up and the opening words on the screen, they appeal to the logical side of the audience. It leaves the audience questioning whether or not they are speaking up and attempts to make them realize the importance of speaking about the subject. 3. Their targeted audience is the general public, but probably more focused on the audience who has the most emotional response and empathy towards animals. This helps my research by showing how a big animal rights group advertises the topic. 4. This video was very hard to watch, which made it an excellent source of advertising to stop animal abuse. Although something they shouldn't really air on TV because of the amount of violence, it is a good tool to have on their website. 5. This video offers a very pathological view to how society is ignorant to animal abuse. It does a great job of getting the audience close to tears, which stands out among the other sources of the bibliography.
Blog - Animal Legal Defense Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2015, from http://aldf.org/blog/
1. The Animal Legal Defense Fund blog comments on animal stories in the media and informs readers how they can help animals in need. It is advocating animal rights and argues about how humans should improve the quality of life for animals. The blog uses pathos by displaying photos from different animal groups, such as the National Marine Fisheries Service and several zoos from around the globe. 2. The authors are all lawyers who are advocating and fighting for animals. They discuss different legal issues on how animals are treated when being prepared to be killed for food, as well as giving the audience suggestions on foods to eat and how they can protect animals. It shows animals being caged or used as human entertainment instead of living in the wild. The writers also describe terrible conditions of animals living in captivity and being used unnaturally for human entertainment, food or for testing. It also post videos of people working to help animals, and grabs the emotions of the readers by showing the mistreatment of them and by also showing the benefits and rewarding feeling of helping animals. 3. The intended audience is for upcoming law students, animal rights activists, and people wanting to know more information about animal rights and how to help. 4. This blog has a lot more detail and different opinions than the other source. It offers more context into the legal issues of animal abuse, not just for circuses and zoos, but also for animals being used for testing. 5. This helps my research because it offers a legal stand point to animal rights. It offers a variety of media that is useful for research.
Fox, G. (2015, September 28). Florida zoo mishandles tiger cubs, feds allege. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
1. This article, which I found on Twitter, discuses a zoo in Tampa that has had several USDA complaints filed against them. The zoo has not done anything to follow up with the complaints, and might be facing legal action soon. 2. Geoff Fox, the author, appeals to the audience’s pathos and logos by describing the conditions of the zoo. While he made attempts to contact the zoo, the zoo did not return any phone calls, making the story sound a little biased. 3. The audience for the story is the general public. It was written originally in the Tampa Tribune by Fox, but the Orlando Sentinel used it on their website. Because it is a local paper, it is decently creditable source. 4. In comparison to my other sources, this article provides a specific example that has more news related content and is a recent event. 5. The argument, or question raised, by this article is the government force of animal safety in zoos. While the government is doing what it can through the USDA, animal safety is important and needs more prompt attention. This helps my research by offering an example to how the government handles these cases and what things happen at zoo's that the public might not hear or think about when visiting them.
Cohen, E. (2013). "Buddhist Compassion" and "Animal Abuse" in Thailand's Tiger Temple. Society & Animals, 21(3), 266-283. doi:10.1163/15685306-12341282
1. In this article, the author discusses how a tiger temple in western Thailand was meant to be a "tiger sanctuary" built on a Buddhist model of peace, but has turned into a tourist attraction that is not helpful for the tigers. The author states that the animals are forced to perform in uncomfortable and unnatural ways. 2. The author backs up his argument of abuse to the tigers by describing his own personal observations, as well as crediting other authors who have written about the temple. It is more creditable because he was able to experience the temple in person instead of relying on other people to describe it to him. The author's ethos is shown through his research of the Buddhist temples and animals, and how this temple has varied from other traditional temples. 3. The audience is academics. This article was published by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It could also be read by people wanting to learn more about international perspectives on animal abuse. Because it was published by a university in Jerusalem, the article is appealing to scholars in the east. 4. This article gives another example to eastern perspectives of animal abuse. It is a similar audience appeal to the India PETA videos, but gives an example of how religion is another influence to the treatment of animals. It also goes beyond talking about zoos and circuses, which are more popular in western countries. 5. This article helps my research by providing another aspect to how animals are treated around the world. It also further expands the research by discussing how religion plays into the treatment of animals, something very important in the eastern world.
Animal Abuse and Neglect : The Humane Society of the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved October 7, 2015,from http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/referrer=https://www.goo gle.com/
1. This website offers its visitors information on what animal abuse is. It appeals to the audience's by showing a video of animals being neglected or abused. The website and video both discuss what animal abuse is, and why society should be aware of it. It then talks about adopting neglected animals. 2. The publisher, The Humane Society of the United States, is a very creditable source. They are a known organization throughout the nation and provide care and protection for abused, neglected or abandoned domestic animals. 3. The audience is the general public of the USA. The website was the first website that appeared on the google search for animal abuse, so the public is most likely to visit the website before any other website. The website is targeted for a middle aged audience. 4. This website offers more background information on what defines animal abuse. Even though it is not specific to zoos and circuses, the overall information can be applied to any animal. It is different than the other sources because it has the contextual information and uses more logos for audience appeal. 5. This website helps my research by providing me with the information on what defines animal abuse. It furthers my research by helping me have a basic understanding of the difference of animal abuse, neglect and abandonment. This helps when analyzing other sources and referring back to animals being abused in other articles.
Li, P. J., & Davey, G. (2013). Culture, Reform Politics, and Future Directions: A Review of China's Animal Protection Challenge. Society & Animals, 21(1), 34-53. doi:10.1163/15685306-12341264
1. This article discusses animal abuse in China and how researchers in the West are not doing anything to reform China. The authors argue about how industrializing farming is hurting animals in China. They also write about how animals are used for entertainment in China and that many people are taking animal's freedoms away. 2. The authors' ethos are noticeably creditable. They use a variety of sources and explain their opinions in full detail. They see the other side of arguments, and explain why they don't agree with it. They also go into detail about China's history and philosophy on animal abuse, and how it has transcended into China today. 3. The audience includes scholars studying China's animal policies, culture or politics. It could also be informational to audiences wanting to learn about how Chinese religions play into their culture because it argues that religious practices can play into animal abuse. The article was published at from both the University of Houston and Hong Kong Shue Yan University. The audience would include not only the U.S.A., but China as well. Researchers in China could use this article to expand upon their studies. 4. This article is similar to the Thailand article and PETA India video because it discusses how the east perceives animal abuse. However, this article also explains how animal farming is hurting animals, and how the influence of having a large human population makes the farming/entertainment of animals a big industry for China. 5. This furthers my research on how different cultures treat animals. It gives me more context by providing me with information on how the population can affect the way animals are treated. It also informs me of different tactics and persuasions used by China for animal abuse.
Pagani, C., Robustelli, F., & Ascione, F. R. (2007). Italian Youths' Attitudes toward, and Concern for, Animals. Anthrozoos, 20(3), 275-293. Doi: 10.2752/089279307X224818
1. This article explains the behavior of Italian youth aged nine to 18 toward animals. It is a research article done on students in Italian schools that discovers and analyzes information about how the children respond to pets, losing pets, killing animals through hunting and animals in zoos. The research discovered that the majority of students are against hurting animals, but only 64 percent of them were against animals being housed in zoos. 2. The research was well planned out. The authors/researchers for the article did a great job on showing their statistics, how they arrived at the numbers, and the planning for the research. This makes them highly creditable. 3. The audience for this piece would be researchers studying child behavior, psychology, and/or animal abuse in Italy. The publication was from the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council in Rome, Italy and the Department of Psychology, Utah State University, USA. It gives researchers in both countries context to how a children perceive animals. 4. This publication is a little different than the rest. This is strict, primary and quantitative research conducted by the researchers and authors of the publication. Most of the other articles are secondary research and do not discover this deep of analyzation. 5. This helps my research by using another example of a different cultural stance on animal abuse. I find it interesting that the research was done on children and not adults because it shows how the culture is influencing the next generation. It is helpful to my understanding on how zoos are seen by as a source of entertainment instead of a captive place to keep animals to make money.
Tobias, M. (2012, November 2). Animal Rights in China. Retrieved November 22, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltobias/2012/11/02/animal-rights-in-china/
1. This article is a Q&A with an associate professor of East Asian politics. The article answers questions about how the economy and politics of China play a role in animal rights and abuse. The professor, Peter Li, discusses his experience growing up in china and how the Chinese government uses animal farms and factories to make money. 2. The professor is extremely creditable since he grew up in China and can compare the difference between the government and its role on animal protection. He even continued his research by taking additional trips to China. 3. The audience of this article would most likely be academics or politicians trying to research animal protection and the government, especially in eastern culture. The audience could also be for anyone interested in animal rights. The publication was from Forbes, who has a wide professional audience. 4. This article is similar to the other articles that talk about how vastly different Eastern culture is from our own about animal rights. It brings a different contrast by focusing on providing long answers from a native Chinese instead of minimal quoting from someone who has only visited China. 5. This article helps my research by bringing in a deeper understanding of how the Chinese simply don’t think much about how they treat animals. It also gives insight to how the economy can affect nature.
Kikou, O. (2011, March 8). The inhumane trade in European farm animals. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
1. This article explains how the European Union handles animal abuse and killing for food. While the EU has one of the best protection for animals in the world, the EU still exports the animals to countries who abuse the animals and uses violent methods to kill the animals for food. This article takes a stance on why the EU should stop supplying these countries with animals, and hence stop contributing to animal abuse worldwide. 2. The author of this article seems decently creditable, but I would have liked to see more proven research on the discussion of violent slaughtering of animals in third countries. It also seems to lack any political or economic research to why the EU cannot stop shipping animals or impose rules to these countries. The article also lacks any kind of argument or voice from the third world countries. 3. The audience for this article would be general audience, particularly in the EU. Because the article lacks some fundamental research it doesn’t seem like a source that any scholarly or politicians would examine. 4. This article is different from other articles in this bibliography because it shows how western countries might actually be contributing to animal abuse around the world. It also shows how little research is done on western countries and their contribution to animal abuse in foreign countries. 5. This article helped my research because it gave a good starting point for this topic. It also provided me with some ideas on research topics. While the article itself wouldn’t be used, it gives great ideas for different topics and has a different view than most other articles about western countries and animal abuse.
The EU's Cruel Live Animal Export Trade. (2014, February 24). Retrieved November 23, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH60V-IvBC4&feature=youtu.be
1. This video shows animals being slaughtered and mistreated in inhumane ways. It is a graphic video that uses a lot of visuals to back up their argument and show the violent ways animals are treated in third world countries such as, Lebanon, Hungary and Turkey. 2. The authors of this video, Compassion in World Farming, use a lot of pathos to show the audience the terrible conditions the animals face. They use graphic video of animals being slaughtered improperly and bleeding to death while conscious. Because it shows the full slaughtering seamlessly, the video is highly creditable to the conditions of the animals. 3. The audience of this video would be anyone that is fighting for animal abuse and proper animal slaughtering. Because it talks about how the European Union provides some of the animals being slaughtered, it would also appeal to animal rights activist in the EU. 4. This video is different than the other videos and articles in the bibliography because it gives a visual element to how animals are truly treated in these conditions. While the main focus is not on zoos or circuses, the video does show how untrained humans can hurt animals. Just like with zoos and circuses, untrained employees and unhealthy conditions can cause terrible pain in animals. 5. This helps my research by giving light to some of the questions I had from the previous article. It helps me visually see what is being done to the animals and in what country they are being hurt. It can provide context to how they treat animals in general, resulting in abuse also in zoos and circuses.
Payne, S. (2014, December 24). Setting the Circus Record Straight. Retrieved November 23, 2015, from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/letters-to-the editor/2014/12/23/ringling-bros-circus-does-not-abuse-elephants
1. In this press release written by the vice president of Feld Entertainment, a circus defends their rights against PETA accusations claiming that the company abuses animals. The press release explains that every method they use is approved by several animal organizations and veterinarians. The release also states that PETA does not do enough real investigations and that the allegations against the circus are insulting the several men and women who dedicate their lives to the animals. 2. The author of the press release backs up his argument with several facts and creditable sources. For example, he uses quotes and statements from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and American Veterinary Association to prove that his employees do not abuse animals. By using these sources, the author establishes himself as a creditable person. 3. The audience for this press release was the general public, the circuses public and journalists who might be picking up on the PETA allegations. Because it was also published on usnews.com, several Americans saw the post and was intended to be displayed to a national audience. 4. This press release is different than the other articles because it gives a voice to companies who might have false accusations being made about them. It is also written in a different style because it is a public relations tactic to be open and clear with the circus’ publics. 5. Because it gives a voice to the other side of the argument, I believe this press release is very valuable to my research. I like that it challenges PETA and brings light how important research is on such a sensitive topic. It also shows how important it is to do primary research on a company before making accusations against them.
Goss, J. (2013, November 7). Zoos: Good or bad? Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://africageographic.com/blog/are-zoos-good-or-bad/
1. This article describes one woman’s ethical struggle with zoos. On one hand, he understands that zoos provide research and funding for animal organizations all over the world. He also knows that zoos can provide a place for endangered species to live safely. But on the other hand, he doesn’t think that the animals are mentally sound, even if they are born in captivity. 2. The author has good credit and ethos. He has traveled to foreign countries to see animals in the wild and can compare the behavior of the wild and captive animals. He also embraces the mythical side of the zoo, relating to the lancination children have with the zoo from memories of her own childhood. He brings up both sides of the dilemma and defends them in her argument. 3. The audience of this article would be both animal rights activists and people who find nothing wrong with zoos. A general audience can relate to the author’s feelings and struggle. The article was published in Africa Geographic, a creditable source for African culture and wildlife. 4. This source brings an interesting argument into the list of sources. It is different from the other articles because the author argues both sides. It also brings in how zoos can help children and their imaginations, as long as the zoo doesn’t harm the animals. 5. The article is a great find for my research because it allows me to explore the other side of the “Are zoos good of bad?” question. The article brings in new context and ideas that need to be explored in my research topic. In addition, it can lead me to consider different viewpoints on the topic and provide insight from someone who has studied wildlife.
Circus Myths. (2009, September 29). Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/circuses_entertainment/facts/circus_myths. html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
1. In this website brief, common circus myths are debunked through primary research conducted by The Humane Society of the United States. Common beliefs, such as training is done primarily through positive reinforcement, is negated through personal investigations and time spent with several different circuses that have abused animals in order for them to perform unnatural tricks. 2. The publisher of the website, The Humane Society of the United States, is a very reliable source that is widely well known in America. The writer or writers of this website brief obviously did their own research and drew information from other organizations, such as U.S. Department of Agriculture to back up their research. They appeal to an audience ethos by describing some of the elements the animals face. 3. The audience of this website brief is the general public and people who might question a circuses practices. Because it is on a well-known animal activist website, the audience is most likely people who already agree that circuses can be abusive towards animals. However, this article would be very easy to share on social media, allowing for others to see the debunked myths. 4. This website brief is similar to other articles in the bibliography that discuss animal abuse in zoos. However, it is written in a format similar to a Q&A. It doesn’t provide any video or extra content that would back up their argument like a video showing animal abuse would. 5. This helps my research by finding a more reliable source for some of the common concerns about how animals are treated in the circus. It also brings up more questions that might require some additional research and thought.
Vereykina, E. (2015, July 22). Animal Rights Activists Challenge Moscow Petting Zoo Trend. Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/animal-rights-activistschallenge-moscow-petting-zoo-trend/525978.html
1. This article from The Moscow Times discusses the rise of petting zoos inside Russia’s shopping malls. Visitors can pay to pet all kinds of animals, ranging from a guinea pig to an ostrich. However, the business often leaves animals in cramped, non-habitual areas. Many of the animals are abused both mentally and physically, and Russian government is nowhere to be found. 2. The author of this article has closely followed the trends of the business and has researched the welfare of the animals. She appeals to her audience’s pathos and ethos by describing the conditions and why the businesses are becoming so popular. She also states some solutions animal rights activist have been trying to impose on the businesses, but beckons for government help. 3. The audience of this article would be the Russian population, and any worldwide animal organization that would be looking into the lack of government laws. It also appeals to western cultures, especially since the article is written in English. One could even argue that perhaps it is a cry for help from western countries. 4. This article is similar to other eastern articles about animal abuse. Animals are consistently abused in eastern cultures. However, this article digs more into how little the government does to protect animals in eastern culture and describes how the economy plays a huge role in how animals are treated. 5. This article furthers my research on eastern culture by adding an additional country into the mix. It also drives home the argument that eastern government does very little to insure animals are not abused or neglected. In addition, it gives insight to how businesses are more focused on their bottom lines than they are the safety of the animals.