Warning: Slight Spoilers Ahead for "The Walking Dead" and "Game of Thrones"
Animal cruelty seems to be an everlasting problem in this world. One of the reasons I think it has continued to be such a problem is because of the media. More specifically, it's because of the lack of reporting on animal cruelty, in addition to the treatment of animals on television shows in regards to how they are used and how their lives are treated.
We’ve all seen those ASPCA commercials that rip your heart out by showing you cats with one eye, but as far as violence against animals goes, that's basically all we get shown. It is far more rare to see anything in the media that talks about animal testing, the extensiveness of cruelty in the food industry and the hunting of animals.
We were all up in arms when Cecil the Lion was shot and killed two years ago, and it was great to see so many people outraged. The thing is, Lion hunting had already been going on long before Cecil ever fell victim to it.
Every once in a while, articles will come up about violence against animals, but it is rare that it ever gets reported on television. There are pigs and other farm animals that are being beaten and abused on farms across the country, and not many seem to be looking into that.
Rodeos and Circuses continue to torment animals and force them to perform dangerous tasks. Animal testing of cosmetics is still legal here, and there is a law--the Humane Cosmetics Act--which seeks to ban animal testing of cosmetics. It is currently in the first stage of the legislative process.
Yet, it seems to me that the media has not said a thing about it to make people aware of it. We cannot stop animal cruelty unless the issue is being given the attention it deserves and requires.
As far as television goes, animal deaths are many, yet their sympathy is scarce. Animals get killed off constantly and for no good reason. For shows like "The Walking Dead" and "Game of Thrones", this is a common occurrence. Both shows are meant to be brutal, so it is understandable that they would feature death and for that to occasionally be the death of animals.
However, the shows are already brutal enough with just the human deaths. Humans die often on these shows; However, the human deaths are typically treated with more sympathy, and they are usually killed off for a reason.
Multiple deer and horses have been seen being murdered on "The Walking Dead" for no real reason. On this show, it is rare to see an animal show up; when an animal does show up, it usually seems like a sign of hope, a beautiful thing because there is still life.
However, every single time, that an animal gets killed off, it is usually done quickly and without much acknowledgement. It is even sometimes used as a relief when people believe that a human had been killed by a hoard of zombies, and it turned out it was the animal that took the fall.
In the first season of "Game of Thrones", the dire wolves were introduced. There were six of them, one given to each of the stark children. Since they were first introduced, four of them have been killed. Maybe one if any of their deaths were actually used to add to the story.
When Bran’s wolf dies, it is because he is protecting Bran from murderous zombies. However, this wolf was killed very brutally and quickly. No one bothered to help him or even try to keep him from being harmed, and no one acknowledged that something had happened to him--that he died, he was just killed, and it wasn't necessary. If he had been a human, this would not have been the case. Because he was an animal, they made his death just a pointless moment.
Now, "The Walking Dead" has a tiger. A beautiful, majestic creature that offers as much intrigue and dynamic as any human on the show. However, it is very likely the tiger will be killed; because on television, animals' lives can be wasted easily because they are seen as being less valuable than the humans. They are devices for senseless violence. If their deaths received more sympathy and recognition, this would not be such an issue.
Currently, the tiger, Shiva, on "The Walking Dead" is an incredibly interesting and beautiful addition to the show. She is kind and beautiful, and killing her off would not help the story in any way. Her presence greatly adds to the story, in my opinion, because something that animals can do is teach us humanity; something that every character on "The Walking Dead" needs to try and maintain. Yes, she is a CGI tiger, but it is the idea of her being an animal and her death being disregarded that is the concern.
I have watched both of these shows, and aside from a few issues I have with both, I find them compelling in their own right, and I am not trying to persuade you, the readers, not to watch them; but I think it is important to point out that this is an issue.
If they kill off the tiger on "The Walking Dead", I probably will stop watching the show because I don't think any cruelty in the tiger's plot line is necessary. Nor do I think it is necessary to kill anymore wolves on "Game Of Thrones".
I have great concerns when it comes to real animals being used for movies and television as well. For the filming of "Water for Elephants," the elephants they used were horribly abused in order to teach them the tricks they had to perform in the movie. They were not abused on set because this is illegal, but they were abused at the facility where they were trained.
There are many cases of animals dying or being injured on the sets of movies, and being forced to do dangerous things for scenes. Animal representation is important in films and television in order to educate people so that they have empathy for animals, but the welfare of the animals on set needs to be the number one priority; if it puts the animal under stress or could hurt the animal, then the scene should be done with CGI or not done at all.
Sadly, I've seen cases such as one episode of the "Tyra Show" where she offered to pay people to eat 10 live worms. I loved the "Tyra Show", but I had a big problem with this because those worms' lives were treated like they were nothing, and they were eating them live--so they have to suffer through someone chewing them.
Being dropped down into stomach acid is just cruel, and Tyra's show is not the only show that has done this. Youtuber, Louis Cole has eaten anything from live locusts to a live lizard. The game show "Fear Factor" also uses the practice of eating live bugs and certain body parts of animals as entertainment for its viewers.
Animals should not have to suffer for entertainment, and animal suffering should not be a source of entertainment. Their abuse should receive far more media attention and if animals are used in entertainment, they should be treated well on and off set, and their characters should receive sympathy in the shows plot.
