Rouster’s Continuing List of Hypocritical Celebrities - Roger Moore

Recently, Rouster continued their intermittent exploration of celebrities who could be described as hypocrites. These are individuals who have no issue decrying the use of trained animals in circuses and other entertainment yet are quite happy to have their talents used in film and television productions that feature not only trained animals but animals that may have been trained by circus animal trainers.

 

With the opening of the latest James Bond epic "Spectre" perhaps it would be appropriate to examine the film and television career of yet another celebrity hypocrite, former James Bond actor Roger Moore.

ADI: Sorry There's Been An Error About Our Charitable Status

Animal Defenders International (ADI) are a well-known animal-rights lobby organisation familiar to many readers of this blog. Their most recent televised appearance in the UK was to provide a representative to put forward the organisation's well-known opposition to animals, in what they describe as, entertainment – although this now seems to encompass just not circuses but also zoos. The program was ITV's This Morning hosted by Phillip Schofield and Amanda Holden and related to the animal trainer Thomas Chipperfield's touring show with trained big cats entitled "An Evening with Lions and Tigers". The interview became notorious for the fact that Amanda Holden became quite aggressive in her line of questioning of Thomas Chipperfield, which resulted in the actress being obliged to apologise to viewers in the latter part of the interview.

Celebrity Hypocrites - The award goes to Amanda Holden!

Regular readers will recall that not so long ago Rouster decided it would be useful to compile a list of celebrities who, during their professional careers, have been involved with trained animals and did not see the hypocrisy of also siding with animal-rights campaigners against the use of such animals in performance in film, theatre and, of course, the circus. Just to refresh readers memories we list our top 10 celebrities.

Rouster's Top 10 Celebrity Hypocrites

1. ????

2. Ricky Gervais

3. Simon Cowell

4. Steve-O

5. Kim Basinger

6. Alec Baldwin

7. Martin Shaw

8. Doris Day

9. Brian Blessed

10. John Nettles

It has been noticed that we, in fact, left out a number one celebrity in our list. Who could have this special spot? Virginia McKenna for the way she has used her career-saving appearance in "Born Free" with trained wild animals to create a "charity" that gets funds for fighting against the industry of training animals? Roger Moore for working with trained animals in a lot of his films - most notably "Octopussy" that featured an animal circus? No, as fate would have it, we now have somebody who we feel can be awarded this place. 

Therefore, this award goes to Amanda Holden.

Why? 

CAPS Now Targets Direct Action Against Zoos

If anybody would like to see an example of why we have been warning fellow colleagues in the zoo world that they should be concerned at the attack on circus animals one does not have to look much further than events this weekend that took place at Twycross zoo. On Saturday, 8 August 2015, a small group of protesters from the Captive Animal Protection Society (CAPS) staged a protest outside the zoo. The police were called because the protesters were apparently stopping cars from entering the zoo's property.

The Mystery of Merlin the Circus Donkey That Never Was.

"Nellie" the elephant may well have packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus but in the case of "Merlin" the donkey this never happened because he was never in a circus in the first place.

Anyone who was on Facebook with an interest in circuses on the night of 4 August 2015 would have been alerted to to a link by the donkey and horse sanctuary in Cornwall called the Flicka Foundation. In a posting, this group made an allegation that one of their donkeys "Merlin" was rescued from an abusive situation in a circus. The Foundation also made various "factual" claims regarding abuse in circuses in general. Unfortunately they could not provide any references or evidence supporting this position. Due to this a number of circus supporters politely commented on this thread posting various facts and examples of why we did not believe that in general circuses with animals are by their nature cruel.

Open Letter: Confidence Industry Or Conservation?

Background:  

Ron Thomson is an ex-game warden and retired national parks board director. He has 46 years experience in southern African wildlife management affairs including 28 years of full-time service in various national park departments and 3 years working as a professional hunter. He now writes books "to create a better informed public" - better informed, that is, about the realities of wildlife management. One of his books has been prescribed reading for the Higher Diploma in Nature Conservation for the last 15 years - an academic course offered to serving wildlife field officers by the Tshwane University of Technology. For more than 20 years he was a Member of the British Institute of Biology and a Chartered Biologist for the European Union.  He has vast experience in both the theoretical AND the practical application of big game management - especially elephant management.  Two of his past posts were: (1) The Provincial Game Warden i/c. of what is now Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park - one of Africa's biggest and most prestigious game reserves; and (2) The Director of the Bophuthatswana National Parks Board (in the 1980s).

Animal Defenders International & The Wild Animal Sanctuary

In February 2015, Rouster highlighted the further antics of the animal-rights business Animal Defenders International (ADI) fronted by Jan Creamer and her partner Tim Phillips. In a blog entitled Lions Are for Life, Not Just the Fundraising, we revealed that ADI had employed the services of the animal-rights friendly Daily Mirror to promote its latest £200,000 fundraising campaign. This new campaign was to relocate lions (and other animals) that had been seized with the collusion of the Peruvian government from ostensibly circuses for relocation to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in the United States.

The blog also highlighted Animal Defenders International's deteriorating relationship with the Longleat Safari Park in regards to its assistance in the rehoming of the former circus elephant Anne.

In a not unfamiliar scenario, it now appears that - as with Longleat Safari Park - the relationship between The Wild Animal Sanctuary (TWAS) and ADI has also broken down, acrimoniously. Reproduced below is a statement from the founder of TWAS, Pat Craig, giving his side of this story regarding the collapse in the relationship of his rescue centre with Animal Defenders International.

'Bullhook' has been mischaracterized

Stylized illustration depicting a cobra and ankus or elephant goad. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Elephant trainer, Janice Aria, articulates an excellent counter-argument to the AR propaganda being pushed to ban the use of the ankus (aka bull-hook or elephant hook) in elephant handling in the below opinion article for the Richmond Times. Although Rouster applauds the overall message put over in the circus novel and feature, "Water for Elephants", which celebrates what good care can be given to circus elephants, sadly it reinforces the bullhook myth. Her article looks at the facts relating to the care, handling and training of circus elephants, based on her experience and the data available.

Circus Mania: Animal Welfare or Animal Rights - the big difference

"I understand why people often harbour an instinctive belief that keeping animals in circuses is cruel or distasteful. I was brought up with that belief. When I began writing a book about the circus, it was the daredevilry of the human performers that I wanted to celebrate. I quickly realised, however, that I would have to visit some of the last remaining circuses with animals because that was where I could get a glimpse into the history of the art form. I went along as a sceptic. Indeed, I went looking for signs of cruelty. But I was determined, too, to speak to the trainers and find out the truth."

Douglas McPherson has written an excellent piece on the distinction between animal welfare and animal rights, using animal circuses as a prime example. Despite articles in The Huffington Post, The Guardian and several books and websites dedicated to this education, the distinction between animal rights and animal welfare is often blurred. McPherson joins other journalists who have noticed how circus is the thin end of the wedge in the argument. Read his very interesting new article here.