Arcus Forum: Acting Against Their Wills

Is it ethical to use animal actors in entertainment? What happens to the animals after they are “retired”? Are there humane alternatives? These were among the many questions examined during the Arcus Forum entitled Acting Against Their Wills, a fascinating panel discussion and reception hosted by Arcus Foundation on October 30th, at The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills.

The event included panelists Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Co-Founder (with Jane Goodall) of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; Stephen Ross, Director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at Lincoln Park Zoo; and Steven Wise, President of the Nonhuman Rights Project.

The esteemed panel raised significant questions about the entertainment industry’s largely unregulated use of animals—especially primates—and remarked on advances in digital technology that have created lifelike and humane alternatives (e.g., the CGI apes in Rise of the Planet of the Apes).

Bekoff and Ross provided illuminating testimony on the negative effects not only of film and television production, but also on the broader system of domestication and training of chimpanzees as animal actors. These processes were described as highly detrimental to the physical and emotional well-being of our closest animal cousins, with negative effects continuing long past the usefulness of these nonhuman animals as unwilling entertainers.

Stephen Wise has spent much of his legal career advocating for the rights of nonhuman animals. He asserted that when animals have rights, they would be free from all forms of enslavement, including servitude to the entertainment industry. Describing a time in the not-so-distant past when certain human beings were not legally considered persons, Wise asserted that legal personhood should not be limited to human beings (e.g., corporations can be persons), and such status should therefore be accorded to nonhuman animals.

Following a Q&A session with an engaged and knowledgeable audience, the conversation continued at the Paley Center’s rooftop lounge where the panelists were available for further discussion and light vegetarian refreshments were served.

Arcus Foundation is a leading global foundation with offices in New York and the United Kingdom dedicated to the idea that people can live in harmony with each other and the natural world. Arcus Forums is an ongoing series of panel discussions presented by the Foundation to facilitate conversation and effectuate change. For more information, visit www.arcusfoundation.org.