compassion

By Melya Kaplan, Executive Director, Voice For The Animals Animal-based circuses have existed for as long as any of us can remember. As children, we watched in awe as lions leaped through hoops and elephants balanced on tiny stools. It was presented as entertainment. It was for us. But what were we really being taught? That wild animals—creatures who should roam free, far beyond our reach—can be confined and used for our amusement. That their purpose is to perform for…

By Melya Kaplan, Executive Director, Voice For The Animals Not long ago, people used to pay to watch the mentally ill in asylums. It was considered entertainment. Today, we look back at that practice with disbelief, ashamed that such cruelty was ever accepted. We see our rejection of it as a sign that humanity is evolving. We recognize that suffering—no matter who experiences it—should never be a spectacle. This is the value of compassion. There will come a day, not…