We all know the story of Bobby Berosini and his apes, who went from being major headliners on the Strip to being unemployable. Did any other animal acts ever lose their Vegas gigs because of complaints about how the animals were treated?
[Editor's Note: This two-part series on animals performing in Las Vegas production shows is penned by David McKee.]
“Vegas has cleaned up a lot in terms of wild animal exploitation,” says Nina Jackel, president of Lady Freethinker, an animal-rights group. “It used to be a hotspot for shows in which lions, tigers, elephants, and other animals were forced to perform. Performing animals are typically taken from their mothers at a very young age, trained with fear, and forced to live in camped unnatural conditions.
“These acts fell out of favor with the public in recent years,” Jackel reports. “Tiger-cub petting, or any human contact with many exotic animals, was also banned in Nevada under the Tiger King Act in 2021.”
Klayton Rutherford, director of captive wildlife advocacy for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), points to Montecore’s near-fatal assault on Roy Horn as a turning point in the animal-rights struggle in Sin City. He says it changed views on the use of big cats for entertainment.
“Just within the last few years, PETA successfully negotiated and pressured the ownership of the Mirage to move the cats to reputable facilities from Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden, where they weren’t used for magic shows anymore, but they were confined and displayed for people to gawk at,” Rutherford adds.
Rrutherford notes that, post-Siegfried & Roy, animal acts are having a harder and harder time being green-lit by the Clark County Commission. “The fact that Las Vegas is saying no to animal acts and local people are coming out to voice their concerns when somebody tries to bring one, that speaks volumes about what the animal-rights movement has done and accomplish with regard to animals used for entertainment.”
One such win for animals involved magician Jay Owenhouse, who had a run-in with PETA. After a planned (and approved) Owenhouse show didn’t pan out on the Strip (across from Mandalay Bay), the illusionist pitched a new act. He intended to cage three tigers in a temperature-controlled circus tent or other such structure near the intersection of Paradise Road and Convention Center Drive.
However, PETA and its allies sprang into action and, fearing the disapproval of Commissioner Tick Segerblom and his fellows, Owenhouse backpedaled. In January 2022, he announced that his act would proceed — without tigers.
As the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported at the time, “Ultimately, Owenhouse was unable to convince county and police officials that three tigers living for an extended period of time near residences, businesses, and foot traffic was a good idea, despite his assurances that three perimeter fences and 24-hour security at the enclosure on a paved parking lot were adequate for public safety.”
As local activist Linda Faso complained of Owenhouse's aborted Strip stint, "It just cheapens the Strip, to put up a plastic tent with a sideshow. That's how it's perceived. What are we doing?”
Tomorrow: The downfalls of Dirk Arthur and Jeff Lowe, as well as the near-forgotten lion exhibit at MGM Grand.
