Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1907-05-09
TRAINED BY CRUELTY
Animals, as a Rule, Taught Tricks
Through Torture.
KINDNESS is NOT A FACTOR.
The Result of tie Methods Employed,
Says an Englisi, Writer, Is the Tri-
umph of a Brute Over Brute by
Patient and Persistent Cruelty.

/
| Il have an old fashioned belief that
| one should never make n damning
statement unless he is prepared to
prove Il up to the hilt. And SO | am
| confronted at the outset with an al
most insurmountable difficulty-to the
| layman who would accurately inform
himself of the methods of animal train
| ing there is opposed bulwark of con-
cealment grim and silent as the great
wall Of China writes W. Ranton
| Clarke in the Manchester Chronicle
| "Thc glib assurance that 1T is all
| done by kindness has become by
word. No true lover of an animal be
| lieyes it, nor could any reasoning crea-
! ture. lacllin. that particular affection.
| if he will carefully examine such facts
! as are obvious
| Granted there are animals OF eX.
IRENE intelligence and ductablity.
! Granted there are men and women OF
| extraordinary influence over birds and
| beasts. The best these twain can
| achieve in combination does not pro-
| duce an effective stage show. nor can
one-hundrcdth part of the entertain
ment provided by the trainer I've
ascribed to his abnormal ability or to
| the especially acute Intelligence of his
pupil 1t is more probably the tr-
| umph of brute over brute by pa
tent and persistent cruelty
The public judges by what it secs
on the stage and remarks in admira-
ton and approval that there was no
sign of q whip An animal exhibitor
who was avowedly cruel would be
pretty low down in the ranks Of show
men. own Il particularly ferocious
looking bulldog who goes crazy with
delight at the sight Of u whip. 1t has
! been his pet toy for years ana means
the beginning Of II romp. ON the other
hand a movement of the trainers fin
ger almost lmperccptible to the audi
dence may suggest to the powerful
| Imagination of the animal fiendish tor
ture. 1t may recall the hot irons, the
agonizing Utilization OF a nerve.
"Such appeals to the memory are, in
| truth the stock in trade of the animal
trainer. What the wretched creature
has gone through during months of
daily preparation can never be known,
| for tie work Is carried out i'll secrecy
and secluson There is rarely Il second
person present, and the brute cannot
speak That is the most hideous factor
of the case.
| Go mr.. nf bf, fnaf
that the training is apt to he hard and
painful and a blow is not uncommon
| from the most humane and patient
trainer, angercd, II may be, by stupid
| ty and INSTRUMENTATION. If it Is SO
with the boy, what must it be with
the brute?
There Is no possession 50 hdcous
as that of the triumph, even momen-
tarly, of cruelty. Touch child, a
horse or dog with whip and there
| Is hideOuS sense of satisfaction, even
when the cause is righteous. The JOY
of infllcting pain is possible to the best
of us and grows by what it feeds on.
Imagine tho situation between
coarse vulg in and helpless brute
and you get the process of animal
| training
| Il have never known Il disinterested
member of the circus community pre-
tend that the education of any animal
was pleasant to the animal, and have
known them to speak with horror Of
| the methods of some trainers
1T is not very long since an athlete
snatched the whip from Il well known
dog trainer OF the stage of London
variety theater and soundly thrashed
MN amid the llaudits of the company.
Another distinguished professor is
blackliSted by one of the largest syn
dicateS for undisguised cruelty (off the
stagci to his large and various family
TWO Of our best known managers alb
soluteiy refuse TO deal with animal
turns and make no c9ucealment of
their reasons. And tile editor now de-
ceased, of an important professional
/ paper for years refused to attend any
place OF entertainment where dogs or
BIRDS, or indeed any dumb creature
save conventional circus horses, ap-
peared
All these men knew what they We're
about. Most of tile other performers
IN a music hall fight keep shy of the
animal trainers. The stage hands speak
WIN horror of what they see.
The mortality among performing
animals is perfectly awful Ever So
many are hopelessly injured in the
process of education, and ever so many
succumb to the dreadful life of nightly
performances.
Whenever case of cruelty by
performer comes before the courts one
Is amazed by the nepuWde ana fulfil
ity of the evidence.
The public is If course the main
culprit 1t wants the shows. and man
ayers provide them though they must
he conscious Of the truth OF all | have
written They even assist in the un
Nlhdhess for the Stabling and menag.
erie accommodations Of some of our
largest establishments are insanitary
ana inadequate in the extreme.
/ finish as begin. The cruelty of
ANIMAL training is almost impossible OF
proof Much Of It should be obvious.