Circuses, zoos, aquariums, dog fighting, hunting, fishing, horse racing, bullfighting… all of these practices keep animals in captivity and use them against their will for human entertainment. People take part, considering them to be fun, entertaining, artistic or cultural, but none justify the forcing of animals into confinement, to suffer and die, for our benefit.
In the past, in Roman circuses, elephants, humans, tigers, and other animals were killed for the sake of amusing spectators. In England, bears were forced to fight dogs until one of the two died. Until very recently, in a Spanish town, goats were thrown to their deaths from the church tower during festivals. All of these forms of entertainment have finally been rejected by the majority of society, though still, many more forms of abuse are yet to be questioned and eliminated.
Level: Intermediate: B1/B2
Running Time: 90 minutes +
Materials included
This free lesson plan is suitable for adults, teenagers, and General English classes. Each plan includes:
- A debate motion
- A summary of the controversy
- Points for both Pros and Cons
- Language to use in a debate
- Debate role cards to help identify student groups
- An article
- Statistics (true or false exercise)
- Vocab for the topic
Preparation
Worksheet download
Animals should not be used for entertainment – Discussion Questions and Article
Animals should not be used for entertainment – Pros and Cons Debating Pack
