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I was only able to hear the last few minutes of Leonard's conversation with Charles Siebert today but I plan to listen to the full interview shortly.

Some weeks ago, I watched with great interest the film that PBS ran on their Nature program about the people who are courageously rescuing and rehabilitating animals that have been used and abused by humans for entertainment purposes as well as research.

I so support Siebert's position that we humans need to completely transform our relationships to the other species (as well as our own) with whom we share life on this planet Earth. This is an issue that is at the core of my work.

Along with several colleagues, I am developing an initiative called "TreeFriends: Using the Arts to Transform Our Relationship to the Natural World." Working with the administration and faculty of some of our NYC high schools and schools of higher learning, we will be offering TreeFriends, an experiantial and participatory program, in the coming academic year.

I would welcome the opportunity to invite Charles Siebert to be part of the growing TreeFriends collaborative team of conscious citizens from many walks of life.

Thank you for having him as your guest.

www.lifedeathbeyond.com

I think the phenomenon of the zoo and the circus possibly arose from human curiosity. In Medieaval times this resulted in animals being declawed, defanged, feet chained & put to 'fight', i.e. defend themselves against packs of dogs etc in markets throughout the world. (No claws. No teeth. Think about it.) It still happens in many Asian countries where entertainment options are limited and TV etc is only now becoming available & accepted by their governments as safe and legitimate.

However culture takes a while to evolve: understanding that bear & bull baiting & fighting (in many of the 'Stan' regions of northern Asia as well as very modern Spain & Portugal),dog & cock fighting (anywhere in Asia as well as NYC!)is not the equivalent of watching soap operas or wrestling matches on TV, takes a while.

Which brings me to my point - at last! I really believe that evolved, modern peoples in the first world are still hanging on to their cultural roots exacerbated by zoo/circus $ at the cost of the physical torture & psychological trauma of countless animals.

Our wonderful, natural curiosity can be satisfied by watching endless splendid, graphic & explanatory movies on PBS about all the fascinating creatures that inhabit our planet with us. We can still watch, see & understand - our curiosity satisfied.

We are but one specie. They are many. We have the power to torture and eliminate them - one by one - as we appear to be doing. Let us not encourage it by perpetuating the old, pre-animal science circus/zoo phenomenon. The non-human animals & we human animals deserve and owe better.

It's nice, amid all the cooking segments that focus on meat and dairy dishes, to hear a piece that explores our relationship to animals.
I must take issue with a comment by Leonard which reflects a commonly held belief by meat eaters: that vegetarians and vegans who claim to love animals will likely go to a circus, wear leather, or watch an animal exploitation movie without giving it a second thought. I know it's nice to find hypocrisy in people who's opinions and protests can make one feel guilty or defensive about their lifestyle, but the fact is, ethical vegans and many vegetarians will not only wear vinyl instead of leather, acrylic instead of wool, and nylon instead of silk, but they would sooner protest Barnum and Bailey's circus than ever buy a ticket.
Furthermore, I would point out that even assuming an animal is dumb (and here I will say I'm an ethical vegan of 12 years who would never argue that brain functions and emotional responses among different species are the same) why does that make it ripe for exploitation? Critical thinking and self-referential emotional responses are clearly not the only criteria we use to define the animals in our lives. If it were, I shudder to think what we would do to the developmentally disabled.

I agree with Charles, about the extinction of the zoo. With our satellites and HDTV's, channels like Animal Planet and Discovery make the need to "bring back" these majestic creatures for our viewing pleasure a thing of the past.

Great study. I adore all animals and believe they are just as intelligent as humans, in their own/different way. I beleive they should never be exploited for our amusement. Ever.

However, does Mr. Siebert have an animal or human psychology/medical background? What makes him qualified to study animal behavior or lends credibility to his findings?