When I first started going to Vegas, production shows often included animal acts. I remember seeing Bobby Berosini's orangutans at the Stardust, Robie Glaser's sea lions in Splash! at the Riviera, the dolphin in Hallelujah Hollywood, in Jubilee at Bally's and others. Do you have any insights as to why the animal acts they went out of fashion? And do think the onstage mauling of Roy (of Siegfried & Roy) was, like a friend of mine thinks, the last nail in making animal acts losing favor with audiences?
Bobby Berosini was secretly filmed by a Stardust dancer backstage before a show slapping and punching his orangutans and striking them with a metal rod. Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall and others reviewed the footage and declared it to be clear evidence of severe physical and psychological abuse. Although Berosini initially won a defamation suit against critics in 1990, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed this in 1994, confirming that the video accurately portrayed the abuse. The exposé forced Berosini out of the ape-training business and resulted in the orangutans eventually being retired to a sanctuary.
Robie Gasser’s sea lion act has faded from collective memory, as has the dolphin in Jubilee! Casinos were, and are still, ill-equipped to handle and care for exotic animals. This was evidenced by the Mirage's dolphin habitat where 16 to 17 dolphins died between its opening in 1990 and its closure in 2022-2023. And this was a relatively enlightened facility, at least compared to the production shows with animal acts.
Roy Horn’s unfortunate maiming at the paws and jaws of Montecore wasn’t the final straw, but it was probably the decisive one. It happened in front of a paying crowd and, for all the spin offered by Siegfried & Roy, it brought home the dangers of working with big cats.
People seem to like a certain amount of risk when they come to Las Vegas, at least as far as their wallets are concerned. However, given the scandals and highly publicized casualty of Roy Horn, most animal acts in Las Vegas and elsewhere have gone ... extinct.
