KICK-ASS children’s movie ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’, which opened in Limerick cinemas this week, is sure to be a huge draw for youngsters over the Halloween school holidays.
However, John Carmody of the Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN), is warning people not to get carried away and buy real life turtles, rats or any other animal depicted in the movie as a result of watching the action-packed comedy.
Mr Carmody, who has been working in the area of animal rights for 20 years, says that ARAN is now bracing itself for a huge surge in people buying animals from pet stores in the coming days.
“Animals such as turtles and rats, in particular, will be popular targets as a result of this new film,” Mr Carmody explained.
“People should learn from their mistakes of the past with other films that would have featured animals. Animals require a lifelong commitment of care, responsibility and money for the food, vet bills and other needs of these thinking animals,” he said.
He says that ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ is not the first time a highly-anticipated film has caused problems for animals, citing ‘101 Dalmatians’ (dogs), ‘Finding Nemo’ (fish), ‘Harry Potter’ (owls) as other examples.
“The response from children watching these movies is to hassle their parents to buy these animals. Parents most often give in to the child, only to abandon the animals weeks later when the monotony sets in. We’d ask people to watch the film, and then take time out to visit an animal sanctuary and give hands-on help to a pitiful animal who has little or nothing in their life,” he suggested.
