Christmas is a time for traditional seasonal entertainment and in the UK pantomime is very popular and it can feature artists from all walks of the entertainment business including stars of the stage and screen and most recently winners of talent contests enjoying their “15 minutes of fame”.
One such artist is Ashleigh Butler and her performing dog Pudsey. The success of this act - that won Britian's Got Talent - confirmed the love the British still seem to have for talented performing animals .
It would, of course, have been wonderful if this had resulted in some positive news for other professional animal trainers, particularly those working in the circuses, but this was not to be. As reported in the press, Ms Butler decided it would be an excellent career move to take money from the animal-rights group PeTA in return for being their "mouth-piece" in condemning the performance of animals in circus.
This naïve action was quickly pointed out as being very hypocritical, particularly by her fellow professional circus artists and trainers:
This naïve action was quickly pointed out as being very hypocritical, particularly by her fellow professional circus artists and trainers:
Britain's Got Talent, and Strange Bedfellows Too
Britain's got Talented Liars
Move forward some months - and now Ashleigh & Pudsey have been eagerly booked to appear in pantomime, performing to no doubt delighted crowds on a twice daily basis. Ms Butler clearly doesn’t seem to think that this is not only hypocrisy, but irony as it has been the tradition for many years for theatres to stage not just circus acts, but whole circuses in a theatre.
I suppose, as long as Pudsey hasn't got sawdust under his paws he'll be safe.
Astley's Legacy was formed to counter the misinformation and propaganda spread by animal rights activists. As well as fighting the corner for circus animals and their trainers, we are here to promote and celebrate the cultural heritage of circus in general, and especially in the country of its birth - Great Britain. For more information please see our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/223570581049199
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