Radio City Music Hall Scrutinized For Animal Care During its ‘Christmas Spectacular’

Whistleblowers claim there’s nothing spectacular about the way Radio City Music Hall treats animals featured in its annual series of holiday performances.Officials with the activist organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals say a pair of well-placed insiders have uncovered inhumane practices during the yearly production of the Radio City’s “Christmas Spectacular,” including keeping six sheep and one donkey in the basement level of the famed theater for nearly two months while they are forced to perform in the show’s “Living Nativity” scene two to four times every day of the week. They say the animals are only given only six off days for the entire run of the show, which starts in the beginning of November and ends the first week of January.A camel is kept in what animal rights activists say are cramped conditions inside Radio City Music Hall. Courtesy of PETA“There are two full casts of willing human dancers so that they can have breaks and days off, but the animals are not given that,” PETA spokeswoman Catie Cryar told The New York Sun.The animal rights group also learned that the venue’s production is also keeping a pair of camels that spend most days standing backstage in between performances.“It’s obviously unethical to have animals working in these conditions, but it’s also unsafe for the human performers, who are expected to handle these animals on stage without any relevant training,” Ms. Cryar told the Sun. “Camels can be unpredictable and have seriously injured and even trampled humans to death, and they have sometimes been killed as a result. They require special care to protect the public.”Officials for Radio City Music Hall’s parent company MSG Entertainment said they make efforts to ensure the animals are well cared for during their time at Radio City.“The safety of the animals in the Christmas Spectacular’s beloved ‘Living Nativity’ scene is always our priority,” a MSG Entertainment spokeswoman said in a statement provided to the Sun. “Their well-being is critical, and they are provided with exceptional round-the-clock care throughout the show’s limited run.”This is not the first time that PETA has pointed out what they claim are allegations of serious mistreatment of animals at the Manhattan venue.Last holiday season, they first discovered that Radio City Music Hall had been keeping the animals for the Christmas Spectacular in less-than-ideal conditions and launched a campaign, urging Radio City’s owner, CEO of Madison Square Garden Entertainment, James Dolan, to stop using the animals. They even recruited actor and New York City fixture, Alec Baldwin, to pen a letter directly to Mr. Dolan.“[A]s someone who cares deeply about animals, I was disappointed to learn that the show doesn’t just feature dazzling human performers like the Rockettes but also camels, sheep, and donkeys, who are forced to participate in the Nativity scene,” Mr. Baldwin wrote in the letter dated December 21, 2023 in which he implores to Mr. Dolan that it would be the last year they use live animals in the yearly extravaganza.“The Christmas Spectacular already features extremely talented human performers, and reinventing the iconic show to be animal-free would bring it into the modern era and truly align it with the Christmas spirit,” he wrote.“Please ensure that this year’s show will be the last that uses animals and give this archaic practice a high kick out of your production and into the history books.”Ms. Cryar says that PETA hopes that 2024 will be the last year that Radio City places the animals under stressful and inhumane conditions.“Trotting out stressed sheep and camels ruins the holiday fun for anyone with a grain of respect for animals,” the PETA spokeswoman said. “In this time of peace on Earth, PETA is calling on Radio City Music Hall to leave animals in peace, not force them to stare at basement walls and engage with crowds in a shameful spectacle that belongs in the history books.”The recent discovery led to PETA’s president, Ingrid Newkirk, to send a new letter to Mr. Dolan earlier this month.“Your production has already been changing to include the latest technology like digital projections and drones, so making the switch to stop using live animals only makes sense,” she writes in the letter. “We urge you to leave animals in peace by using only animal-free technology next year as including live animals ruins the show for anyone in the audience who cares about them or is the slightest bit knowledgeable about their interests and needs.” “Once, people used to laugh at baby chimpanzees in pants and suspenders, but that time has passed and so has the time to include any live animals as props in human amusements such as this.”

Radio City Music Hall Scrutinized For Animal Care During its ‘Christmas Spectacular’

Radio City Music Hall Scrutinized For Animal Care During its ‘Christmas Spectacular’

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