Animal fact and fiction
Animal lover Ann Lee enjoys movies featuring cute creatures, but knows that they are just for entertainment.
Ann Lee is an education officer at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). She helps others understand how to take care of animals and respect them like any fellow living being. The animal lover currently shares a home with a dog, a cat, two guinea pigs, two hamsters and two gerbils. She tells us that some pets become fashionable after they appear in hit movies.
Q: Can you give us examples of animals that have become popular over the years?
A: Chinchillas were once very popular because they were featured in the Japanese animation film My Neighbor Totoro. After that, we noticed more of them at pet shops and we also received calls asking about them. There was also an event a few years back that brought in exotic breeds of rabbits, and we did receive some surrendered exotic rabbits after that. When there is a trend, people get animals as pets, but they often abandon them when the trend dies.
Q: Why did some of these pets become so popular?
A: We see it quite often whenever there is a movie featuring certain animals. For example, after the movie Marley and Me, which featured a Labrador, people got really interested in this breed. There were also movies featuring huskies used to pull sleds in snowy regions. And, suddenly, people wanted them in tropical Singapore!
Besides movies, when advertisements show a certain breed of dog, for example the Jack Russell, people also get excited about it. Often, people who get interested in these animals don't do their research before they get the animals. After they get the pet, they realise it's not like the movies and advertisements, and then they give it up.
Q: What else is missing from the media's portrayal of animals?
A: The media portrays really cute images of animals, but people need to know that they should do their research after that and learn that it is not all fun and games. In the movie G-Force, guinea pigs can air-kick, but in real life they can't do that, of course! In The Mask, the movie shows how cute and intelligent the Jack Russell is when it puts on the mask, but it doesn't show you how often it needs to be fed, or what to do when it falls ill and needs a visit to the vet.
Most of the time, the media does not show how often an animal needs to poo or pee each day, how you have to take it out for walks, as well as clean and groom it. You also have to train animals because, like you and I, they need guidance and patience, too.
Q: What else should people find out before getting a pet?
A: Some pet shops fail to tell people certain things about the animals, and people buy them thinking about how cute they look behind the glass. But, a pet needs so much more than that. It needs food, regular grooming, consistent training, and trips to the vet which could cost a few hundred dollars each time. For instance, hamsters are supposed to be kept separately in their own cages, but they are often all dumped together in a tank at a pet shop. This misleads people into thinking that it is okay to keep them in the same condition as the pet shop does. In actual fact, if you do that, then the hamsters usually end up fighting with one another and, worse still, would breed really fast so you may end up with 70 plus hamsters before you know it.
Learning from Ann Lee
Ann Lee says that some children and adults are too easily influenced by movies that show attractive animals. There is nothing wrong with enjoying such shows, as long as you have the information literacy to understand that fiction is different from fact.
Remember:
Most of the time, movies do not portray the reality of caring for pets. And, many pet shops do not give enough accurate facts about caring for pets. To find out the reality, get advice from people like Miss Lee who know the facts - not from your favourite movie.
Two super sites to visit:
Ann Lee is an education officer at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). She helps others understand how to take care of animals and respect them like any fellow living being. The animal lover currently shares a home with a dog, a cat, two guinea pigs, two hamsters and two gerbils. She tells us that some pets become fashionable after they appear in hit movies.
Q: Can you give us examples of animals that have become popular over the years?
A: Chinchillas were once very popular because they were featured in the Japanese animation film My Neighbor Totoro. After that, we noticed more of them at pet shops and we also received calls asking about them. There was also an event a few years back that brought in exotic breeds of rabbits, and we did receive some surrendered exotic rabbits after that. When there is a trend, people get animals as pets, but they often abandon them when the trend dies.
Q: Why did some of these pets become so popular?
A: We see it quite often whenever there is a movie featuring certain animals. For example, after the movie Marley and Me, which featured a Labrador, people got really interested in this breed. There were also movies featuring huskies used to pull sleds in snowy regions. And, suddenly, people wanted them in tropical Singapore!
Besides movies, when advertisements show a certain breed of dog, for example the Jack Russell, people also get excited about it. Often, people who get interested in these animals don't do their research before they get the animals. After they get the pet, they realise it's not like the movies and advertisements, and then they give it up.
Q: What else is missing from the media's portrayal of animals?
A: The media portrays really cute images of animals, but people need to know that they should do their research after that and learn that it is not all fun and games. In the movie G-Force, guinea pigs can air-kick, but in real life they can't do that, of course! In The Mask, the movie shows how cute and intelligent the Jack Russell is when it puts on the mask, but it doesn't show you how often it needs to be fed, or what to do when it falls ill and needs a visit to the vet.
Most of the time, the media does not show how often an animal needs to poo or pee each day, how you have to take it out for walks, as well as clean and groom it. You also have to train animals because, like you and I, they need guidance and patience, too.
Q: What else should people find out before getting a pet?
A: Some pet shops fail to tell people certain things about the animals, and people buy them thinking about how cute they look behind the glass. But, a pet needs so much more than that. It needs food, regular grooming, consistent training, and trips to the vet which could cost a few hundred dollars each time. For instance, hamsters are supposed to be kept separately in their own cages, but they are often all dumped together in a tank at a pet shop. This misleads people into thinking that it is okay to keep them in the same condition as the pet shop does. In actual fact, if you do that, then the hamsters usually end up fighting with one another and, worse still, would breed really fast so you may end up with 70 plus hamsters before you know it.
Learning from Ann Lee
Ann Lee says that some children and adults are too easily influenced by movies that show attractive animals. There is nothing wrong with enjoying such shows, as long as you have the information literacy to understand that fiction is different from fact.
Remember:
- To keep you entertained, a movie may show you only the attractive or exciting side of an animal - like how cute or smart it is. But, real animals don't exist to entertain you. They need care.
- There is a difference between image and reality. The image may not be totally made up. But, it is often incomplete - it does not show you everything.
Most of the time, movies do not portray the reality of caring for pets. And, many pet shops do not give enough accurate facts about caring for pets. To find out the reality, get advice from people like Miss Lee who know the facts - not from your favourite movie.
Two super sites to visit:
- http://infolit.nl.sg/index.php/students/ for fun facts on information literacy
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/index.aspx for your projects and assignments.