Roman Animal Cruelty Essay
By Shaun Murphy
Animal Cruelty
The Roman Empire killed off entire species of animals during the era of gladiator games. Some animals that they killed still exist today such as elephants, leopards, and tigers. The Romans' hungry desire to kill animals is a prime example of how bloodthirsty the Roman people were. Killing animals also led to mistreatment of animals outside the arena too. Animals were forced to do many things that they were not used to in the wild such as eating human flesh, or going in front of loud crowds. Using animals for public spectacle and entertainment should have been abolished in Ancient Rome.
Killing animals was very popular in Ancient Rome. Many people came to watch and cheer gladiators on as they slayed wild animals. "On the first day the Colosseum was opened to the public about 5,000 animals were killed" (www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org). In addition, the first Roman Emperor, Augustus Octavian boasted that he killed more than 3,500 African Elephants in his lifetime. Another fact is that Romans used to have excessive animal hunts everyday for fun. These hunts killed thousands of animals each day, and Romans were allowed to keep the hunted animals they killed. Had the Romans not killed so many animals for entertainment, there would be more animals alive today. People can relate the abuse of animals from Ancient Rome to modern day circuses. Today, circus animals are trained and abused with whips, chains and electric prods. Romans, however did not have electricity, so they used different abusive methods to achieve the same goal of training the animal. Both circus animals and colosseum animals were caught in the wild and forced to work against their will. ("PETA Circuses") The way animals were treated in Ancient Rome has influenced our modern world in a negative manner. Romans did bad things to animals and people have seen some similarities of it happening today.
Even today, people use animals for their amusement though it is not as violent as Ancient Rome's entertainment. For example, thousands of animals were abused and killed everyday because of public hunts. Rome almost wiped entire species off the face of the earth. Today, some circuses are known for abusing their livestock similar to Ancient Rome. To kill animals for fun is horrible, and to force them to do something that is not in their nature is inhumane. In conclusion, treating and killing animals mercilessly for entertainment should have been put to an end in Ancient Rome.
WORKS CITED
Animal Welfare Institute, 1983 "www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/persecution roman.php"
Caroline Wazer, March 30, 2016 "https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/ 2016/03/exotic-animals-ancient-rome/475704/"
Karl Smallwood, January 15, 2014 "https://listverse.com/2014/01/15/10-cruel-and -unusual-facts-about-animals-in-the-roman-colosseum/"
PETA Circuses, December 4, 2017 "https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/ circuses/"
GRADE : 90
TEACHER COMMENT : WELL WRITEN BUT SOME GRAMMER ERRORS A
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