Position Statements

Animals in Advertising, Entertainment, and the Arts

January 29, 2026

Background

1. Animals are regularly used in advertising, entertainment and the arts (AEA). These activities are extensive and diverse, ranging from display (e.g. aquarium fish or caged birds in a commercial setting, petting zoos) to demanding productions such as movies, plays and television, to advertising productions. These activities can result in excessive demands being placed on animals where no standards or rules exist to protect their welfare.
2. The CVMA recognizes that welfare concerns may arise from the use of animals in AEA during training, display, performance, or transportation to and from events. Concerns arise from animals being required to perform actions or tasks that result in physical or mental distress and/or are beyond the physical, social, or behavioural capacity of the individual animal, or species, or performance context (1). It is important to note that an animal’s capacity to perform may change over time.
3. The risk of injury, suffering, illness, and distress must be mitigated at all times during the care and management of animals in AEA. The CVMA strongly supports sourcing and selection, husbandry, housing, training, display, and performance, and end of career decisional practices that promote positive welfare and meet the physical, nutritional, behavioral, and social needs of the animal (2-4).
4. The CVMA strongly advocates ongoing training of all handlers, trainers and caregivers to ensure that animals are attended by skilled and knowledgeable personnel.
5. The CVMA holds that the animals’ long-term welfare be considered before being acquired for AEA activities extending to the development of a post-career plan. Consideration must be given to be given to:
   • species, age and individual suitability (5),
   • avoiding promotion of animals that are genetically, anatomically or physiologically compromised (6),
   • the cost of acquiring and caring for the animal before, during and following its AEA career,
   • planning for the re-homing of animals no longer suitable for the initial AEA purpose by virtue of health, age, or temperament, but otherwise judged to be in good general health,
   • end of life planning (7-9).
6. Persons using animals in AEA are strongly encouraged to consider the unintended consequences of increasing public demand for animals that have harmful conformational traits and/or health challenges due to unrestrained breeding practices (10) to feed a market demanding a particular characteristic based on frequent exposure to imagery. Those persons are implored to refrain from using the imagery of animals with exaggerated physical features to promote products or services so as not to normalize what are preventable harms (11).
7. In all venues where animals are housed or used in AEA, humane and ethical treatment must be prioritized, and animals must be portrayed and utilized in keeping with their health and welfare needs and their limitations. AEA activities must also be reflective of societal values (12, 13).
8. When animals are housed for the purpose of AEA, these facilities should be accredited by an appropriate animal health and welfare based regulatory body where one exists (14).
9. Animals should receive appropriate veterinary oversight and care from suitably experienced veterinary professionals. When available, national and industry guidelines and standards must be applied to ensure sound husbandry practices (15).
10. Euthanasia decisions should incorporate careful consideration of an animal’s health and welfare. Euthanasia as a means to address inability to meet expectations in AEA should be employed only where circumstances preclude animal retraining, repurposing, rehoming, or retirement. The welfare of the animal is paramount in all decision-making (8, 9).
11. When members of the public come into close contact with animals in AEA, safeguards must be in place to protect the public from accidental harm resulting from animal contact such as injury or illness (16).
12. The CVMA strongly advocates for the continued development, harmonization, and adoption of provincial (17), national, or international standards and guidelines such as codes of practice for the sourcing, selection, training, management, husbandry, transport and end of career planning for animals used in AEA.
13. Currently, animal welfare regulations and enforcement lack provincial harmonization. This results in a patchwork of regulatory oversight for all animals nationally, including those used in AEA. Periodic external third-party review and assurance of animal welfare standards is recommended in each jurisdiction. CVMA supports national regulatory harmonization, frequent review and updating of rules, policies, practices and enforcement to optimize health and welfare.
14. Criteria for animal use in AEA to be incorporated into standards include:
    • animals must represent healthy examples of their species (18, 19),
    • the environment in which an animal lives must meet its physical and psychological needs,
    • when applicable, animals must be trained to participate in necessary veterinary and husbandry procedures to minimize stress,
    • training methods must be based on positive reinforcement (19, 20) and promote choice and cooperation. Acclimation and habituation can decrease stress associated with some events or situations,
    • periods of training, performance, and display should be limited to frequencies and durations that support good health and welfare,
    • animals must be given adequate space and opportunity for rest from training, performance, or display (21),
    • the non-therapeutic use of drugs or non-nutritive agents to alter or enhance training or performance, or surgical procedures that alter the conformation, appearance or function of animals in AEA are unacceptable (22),
    • any use of drugs or other agents must be compliant with regulatory standards.

References

1. American Veterinary Medical Association. Animals Used in Entertainment, Shows and for Exhibition. Available from: https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Pages/Animals-Used-In-Entertainment-Shows-and-Exhibition.aspx Last accessed April 1 2025.
2. Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. Position Statement on Capture and Sourcing of Wild animals for the Pet Trade (2024). Available from: https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/policy-and-outreach/position-statements/statements/capture-and-sourcing-of-wild-animals-for-the-pet-trade/. Last accessed April 1, 2025.
3. Capdevila S, Giral M, Ruiz de La Torre JL, Russell RJ, Kramer K. Acclimatization of rats after ground transportation to a new animal facility. Laboratory Animals. 2007; 41(2):255-261. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1258/002367707780378096
4. Ziv G. The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs—A review. JVB. 2017; 19:50-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2017.02.004
5. Iossa G, Soulsbury CD, Harris S. Are wild animals suited to a travelling circus life? Animal Welfare, Volume 18 , Issue 2 , May 2009 , pp. 129 - 140 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0962728600000270
6. Ghirlanda S, Acerbi A, Herzog. H. Dog movie stars and dog breed popularity: A case study in media influence on choice. PLoS One. 2014;9(9), p.e106565. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0106565
7. Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. Position Statement on Euthanasia. (2021) Available from: https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/documents/euthanasia Last accessed September 28, 2021.
8. Rathwell-Deault D, Godard B, Frank D, Doizé B. Expected consequences of convenience euthanasia perceived by veterinarians in Quebec. Can Vet J. 2017;58(7):723-728. Available from : https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5479692/pdf/cvj_07_723.pdf last accessed Oct 23, 2025.
9. Morgan, C. University of British Columbia PhD thesis. Stepping up to the plate: Animal welfare, veterinarians and ethical conflicts. 2009. Available from: https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0067398. Last accessed Oct 23, 2025.
10. CVMA Position Statement on Responsible Breeding of Companion Animals (2024) https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/policy-and-outreach/position-statements/statements/responsible-breeding-of-companion-animals/ Last accessed Oct 23, 2025.
11. CVMA Advertising Imagery Guidelines. Available from: https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/media/5talu1sx/cvma-advertising-imagery-guidelines.pdf Last accessed Oct 23, 2025.
12. Price EE, Stoinski TS. Group size: Determinants in the wild and implications for the captive housing of wild mammals in zoos. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 2007;103:255-264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2006.05.021
13. Morgan D, S. Marsh, M. Whittaker, T. Blackett, G. Groves, A. Morgan Core Standard of Welfare Practice for Captive Animals. Revised third edition;. Wild Welfare. March 2023. Available from: https://wildwelfare.org/core-standard/ Last accessed Oct 23, 2025.
14. Fàbregas, M.C., Guillén‐Salazar, F. and Garcés‐Narro, C. Do naturalistic enclosures provide suitable environments for zoo animals? Zoo Biol. 2012;31(3):362-373. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/zoo.20404
15. Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The Accreditation Standards and Related Policies. 2025. Available from: https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2332/aza-accreditation-standards.pdf. Last accessed Oct 23, 2025.
16. Weese JS, McCarthy L, Mossop M, Martin H, Lefebvre S. Observation of practices at petting zoos and the potential impact on zoonotic disease transmission. Clin. Infect. Dis. 2007: 45(1); 10-15. https://doi.org/10.1086/518572
17. Government of Prince Edward Island. Animal Welfare Act Circus Animals Regulations. 2017. Available from: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/legislation/A%2611-2-2-Animal%20Welfare%20Act%20Circus%20Animals%20Regulations.pdf Last accessed Oct 23, 2025.
18. International Collaborative on Extreme Conformations in Dogs. https://www.icecdogs.com/. Last accessed April 8 2025.
19. Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, Position Statement on the Humane Training of Dogs. 2021. Available from: https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/policy-and-outreach/position-statements/statements/humane-training-of-dogs/. Last accessed Oct. 23, 2025.
20. Rooney NJ, Cowan S. Training methods and owner–dog interactions: Links with dog behaviour and learning ability. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 2011;132:169-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2011.03.007
21. Berger A. Activity patterns, chronobiology and the assessment of stress and welfare in zoo and wild animals. Int Zoo Year. 2011;45:80-90. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-1090.2010.00121.x/abstract
22. Toutain PL. Veterinary medicines and competition animals: The question of medication versus doping control. Handb Exp Pharmacol 2010;199:315-339. Available from: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-10324-7_13