PETA targets Kansas merry-go-round maker over animal-themed carousels

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FILE - Visitors enjoy the restored vintage merry go round or carousel at Tilden Regional Park, an East Bay Regional Park in Berkeley, California, Dec. 27, 2018. ( Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Animal rights organization, PETA, urged the largest amusement ride manufacturer in Kansas to end the production and sale of animal-themed carousels.

"Children learn through play, and teaching them to have respect and compassion for all living, feeling beings can help create a more just and merciful world," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a press release.

In the release, the organization argued to Chance Rides, a Kansas-based amusement company, that animal-themed merry-go-rounds celebrate exploitation.

PETA implored Aaron Landrum, the president and CEO of Chance Rides, in a letter on Tuesday to end its production of animal-themed carousels and instead produce figures in the shape of cars, airplanes, spaceships, bulldozers and other vehicles.

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FILE - Cardiff's Big Weekend Summer Festival, Cardiff, Wales, August 4, 2000. ( Western Mail Archive/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

The PETA president said that the different shaped carousel objects would "engage children's imagination," along with "showcasing human talent."

"PETA urges Chance Rides and all other carousel manufacturers to hit the brakes on old-fashioned animal-themed rides and embrace designs that engage children’s imagination and showcase human talent," Newkirk said.

PETA argues that the animal-theming contributes to the connotation that animals are used as "conveyances"and "amusement."

"PETA sent a letter to Aaron Landrum…asking that the company end the production and sale of animal-themed carousels that normalize the use of animals as conveyances and amusements and instead produce carousel figures in the shape of cars, airplanes, spaceships, bulldozers, and other vehicles or more whimsical designs, like shooting stars, rainbows, or brooms," PETA wrote.

FILE - The logo of the international non-governmental animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is pictured during a protest. (YANN SCHREIBER/AFP via Getty Images)

The letter to the carousel-maker said that "times change" and that the animal-themed ride "unintentionally" celebrates animal exploitation.

"Times change, and our understanding of animals has greatly evolved over the past few decades," the letter said. "Animal-themed carousels unintentionally celebrate the exploitation of sentient beings."

PETA said that often-times animals used for entertainment are mistreated, with the animals confined and "in servitude."

"Animals used for rides and other forms of entertainment- including camels, horses, elephants, and dolphins-are confined and in servitude, never free to pursue their own lives and interests," the letter said.

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"They’re also sometimes beaten, tormented, and even slaughtered when their bodies wear out," the letter added.

The letter pointed to a recent PETA Asia investigation that revealed that camels in Egypt are badly beaten and abused.

"All animals are thinking, feeling, affectionate, playful, and social beings who form strong bonds with their offspring if permitted to keep them (a rarity). They crave freedom from oppression," the letter said.