OK, I just saw a commercial for that show Fear Factor… and they are featuring something called “The Mouse Tank.” It looked to me like a tank of water full of dead white mice in which these idiots would submerge themselves. Does anyone who watches this show know if this is what I saw? And why is that legal? Whatever happened to “no animal was harmed in the filming of this show”?
I had pet white mice as kids, and they are pretty intelligent and cute little things. It makes me more than an little queasy to see a tank full of floating dead mice, and it also strikes me as a rather prodigal waste of life. But maybe I’m just an Ithaca hippy at heart after all, but I think it’s sickening. My god.
That’s not the first time they’ve had a container full of dead animals though…remember the one where they had to pick up the frozen rats with their mouths?
Or duck fetuses, that was the worst. How can you eat a baby animal? Eyuck.
I’m one of those weirdos who is of the school of thought, “How can you eat ANY animal?”, so I find it particularly horrifying for that reason. But really, how is this legal? To just kill 100 mice just to throw them in a tank of water for someone’s sick amusement, seems like that should be in violation of some animal protection law. How do people watch this show and why, exactly?
It’s funny that you would mention that, because I am vegetarian as well, and usually when I watch the show, and they have to eat something like horse anus or cow snout, and my friends are making faces and turning green, I’m the one sitting there thinking “And that’s different from eating liver how?”
Magayuk: I totally agree about that-- eating animals is eating animals. When I tell my students that a hamburger is a ground up cow’s muscle tissue, they get grossed out. Hey, just telling it like it is.
However, a tank full of mice killed gratuitiously just for the gross-out on a stupid TV show seems far worse. At least when cows are killed and eaten, well, they serve some purpose.
Do you mind me asking why you watch this show? What merits does it have to recommend it?
You know, dead mice are often sold as pet food (in frozen form). The producers (or whoever is in charge of purchasing) could’ve just bought a bunch of already dead mice, and used them in the tank.
By the way, on mice, AFAIK they are killed with CO2, basically they are put into a tank and asphyxiated (that’s not spelled right is it?) I’VE never done that, but I do have reptiles, and on one of the forums I read as a board dedicted to feeder animals, which I’ve looked through from time to time.
There’s no force of law behind that. The studios just include it as good publicity, so they can get people like you into the theaters. I believe the ASPCA is the group that certifies that the disclaimer is true, but there’s no requirement that all movies have it.
And, aside from what vandal said, mice are pests. There’re millions of them, and there are entire multi-million dollar industries devoted to killing as many of them as possible. I don’t see that it’s such a big deal if one television show kills a couple hundred. But then, it takes some seriously heinous shit for me to start really caring about animal abuse.
Incidentally, it’s ironic that you’re a vegetarian, because I’ve always misread your name as “Rubysteak.”
I do see your point about mice as pests and mice as feeder animals. However, as I said before, killing a mouse for food and killing a mouse as entertainment are two totally different phenomenon.
I have had mice as pests in my house, incidentally. My cats took care of it. Yes, I felt bad for the mouse. Maybe it’s just me being a big old softy, or maybe I’m in denial of the way the food chain works. That said, I cannot get around my feeling that Fear Factor is an abhorrent show.
When I was in Vet Tech school a few years ago, a medical supply company delivered a huge barrel of dead, preserved cats for us to dissect in Anatomy class.
I’ve always assumed that Fear Factor got its dead animals (mice, rats, etc) from the same kind of source.
Although I’m not sure about the dead “roadkill” skunks…
I have done chickens from scratch – chopped off their heads, plucked their feathers, carved up the meat … same with fish. I know I’m eating animals when I eat meat. I’m comfortable with it. What’s gross about it.
Oh, I also like cow and chicken livers. The chicken livers are best fried, the cow livers grilled with gravy and onions. Mmm, them’s good eats.
Haven’t tried duck fetuses, but chicken embryos are good eats.
I don’t eat the body parts of other animals. I understand that I am not in the majority here, but that’s just how I feel. Also, this is a bit of a hijack of my OP, which is about Fear Factor.
More hijacking, and also I think being deliberately provocative to people who you know a) aren’t on this thread to talk about eating animal parts b) don’t dig the practice and c) want to talk about Fear Factor. Please stay on topic.
I still haven’t heard anything from anyone who watches this show as to the nature of its appeal, which eludes me.
Then why are you watching it? Myself, I’m just amused at what people will do for what I consider a paltry sum of money. Sure $50,000 would be nice to have, no way am I doing some of the stuff they have on there for it. This past week, they had to use their mouth to suck the milk from a goat, put it in a glass, then drink it once they had enough. I’m sorry, there is no way I would have done that. At least not for a chance at $100,000. So I watch it pretty much to be amused at what people will do/put up with.
Then why are you watching it? Myself, I’m just amused at what people will do for what I consider a paltry sum of money. Sure $50,000 would be nice to have, no way am I doing some of the stuff they have on there for it. This past week, they had to use their mouth to suck the milk from a goat, put it in a glass, then drink it once they had enough. I’m sorry, there is no way I would have done that. At least not for a chance at $100,000. So I watch it pretty much to be amused at what people will do/put up with.
I have only watched it occasionally, and mostly because I don’t want to change the channel or turn off the TV since I don’t want to miss Thirdwatch which comes on afterwards. When FF is on I often make a point to keep busy on the computer or leave the room during the “eating gross things” stunts.
I actually thought the milking the goat stunt was rather tame compared to some of the gross things they have had to do.
As for the dead animals, as someone said above, there are companies that supply various dead animals for use in research or feeding other animals. So I doubt they are being killed just for FF. And these are usually somewhat “clean” animals, raised specifically for labs or feed. I highly doubt they’d run the risk of getting mice and rats “off the street” and risking giving their contestants Hanta virus or Bubonic plague.
Personally I was more grossed out by them eating living maggots and big fat grubs and worms.
At least the mice were already dead before the show started.
I do think however if this show lasts they will eventually move up to eating some type of live animal. They are so disgusting now they will have to keep getting more and more revolting as time goes on.
BTW The show is one of my guilty pleasures…I ain’t proud of it but there it is.
