Words, words, words.
Storified by anikawashere · Tue, Apr 08 2014 19:03:55
Do animals deserve, desire, or need privacy as humans sometimes do? Do animals wish that humans will stop observing them and disturbing their ways of life? Do they resent appearing in nature films, zoo exhibits, and state fairs? Unfortunately, as humans and animals share no common languages, we may never know for sure. Wildlife documentaries, zoo exhibits, and the Minnesota State Fair Miracle of Birth Center intrude in matters that most humans would consider private such as giving birth, mating, or dying for many years, and yet no discussions on the matter have occurred until very recently.
Jennifer Viegas, an animal rights activist and writer, asks her readers to imagine a film crew, without their permission, storming into their homes, and filming their most private moments. She uses this exercise in order to appeal to the pathos of her readers, hoping that they will feel sympathy towards the animals whose privacy is violated by wildlife film crews and documentary film artists.
The award-winning documentary "Winged Migration" teaches its audience about the migratory patterns of various types of birds as they travel thousands of miles towards the equator in the fall and return to their homes in the spring. The crew spent a total of four years filming as they followed several different species of birds on their respective journeys, on every continent. Migration can often be a very dangerous journey and, needless to say, multiple death scenes were shown throughout the film.
Like "Winged Migration," "March of the Penguins" allows the audience to experience the age old journey of an animal species that had never before been available for humans to experience from the safety of their own homes. This documentary shows the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica travel in single-file lines by the thousands from their safe ocean homes through blizzards in order to get to their "traditional breeding grounds" for mating season. It shows the journey of the baby penguins into adulthood and back to the breeding ground years later.
Another example of the exigence of this rhetorical conversation is the Miracle of Birth Center, an "agricultural education exhibit" in the Minnesota State Fair. Since 2001, this free exhibit has been putting live animal births on display in order to teach the fair guests about Minnesotan animal agricultural productions, veterinary science, and the birthing process in general. Luckily, the animals are in good care as the exhibit is staffed by Veterinarians and FFA students of the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association, who are
Not to mention all of the pictures people take on their trips to the zoo. Give animals privacy w/ habitat & rocks
but this doesn't stop film studies lecturer Brett Mills of the University of East Anglia or other animal rights activists from fighting for animal privacy rights. Mills also questions whether it is ethical to film animals during their most intimate moments, even if it is for academic purposes. He says that people should be able to take legal action and speak out against violations, but others do not deem an animal privacy policy necessary or even appropriate.
"We can never really know if animals are giving consent, but they do often engage in forms of behavior which suggest they'd rather not encounter humans," Mills said.
