The planned use of 100 live farm animals in the opening ceremonies of next month’s Summer Olympics in London has animal-rights activists on the verge of hysteria.
The protesting groups – Animal Aid, Animal Defenders International, Captive Animals Protection Society, Compassion in World Farming, Peta and Viva! – say Danny Boyle, the director of the opening ceremonies, could be guilty of violating the United Kingdom’s 2006 Animal Welfare Act.
The groups have written a letter to the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games’ (LOCOG) director Bill Morris claiming that the animals will experience distress and terror if featured in the opening show, which could potentially subject it to criminal prosecution.
According to the letter, the groups have gleaned 11,000 signatures from the public on a petition to get rid of the live animal feature of the show.
“This is wrong on so many levels. It smacks of the Roman gladiatorial arena – many of these animals, especially the sheep, are likely to be terrified,” Justin Kerswell, campaigns director of animal rights group Viva!, told the British news website Metro.
Additionally, the animal-rights groups maintain that Boyle’s peaceful, green opening scene will misrepresent the British farming industry, which makes use of intense, industrial farming methods that are in need of reform.
LOCOG responded by agreeing to work with the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals in order to ensure that the animals are safe.
The controversy may pose a problem for the ceremony’s finale, though. Singer Paul McCartney, who is heavily involved in animal rights and has participated in ad campaigns for Peta, is set to close the show.
