The use of captive marine animals as key attractions brings in a substantial amount of visitors per year (and therefore money) clearly indicates that animals in malls, zoos, and petting farms are often considered amusements, instead of living creatures. Indeed, these animals are assessed as means to an end, instead of detaining any intrinsic, humane, or non-fiscal worth. Although animal protection groups have multiplied over the years, the problem seems to remain. As stated by Mullan and Marvin, zoos (yes, WEM is accredited as an official zoo, believe it or not) are fundamentally institutions of power, thus revealing the human ability to capture exotic animals and put them on display for human gratification:
The zoo constitutes a gallery of images constructed by man. The fact that he is able to arrange around him living creatures from all parts of the world, to make decisions with regard to the quality and conditions of their lives and to give shape to the world for them in terms of his imagination and desire is, in the end, an expression of power. (160)
Just as doctrines of racism were once prevalent within Western society, supporting arguments that it was acceptable to enslave minorities on the grounds that they were fundamentally inferior, ideologies of speciesism (that is, the notion that human animals are of higher value and superior than nonhuman animals) serve similar purposes today. Both legitimize the exploitation of living entities. Indeed, the West Edmonton Mall 'zoo' is nothing more than a type of prison for animals "where the public can visit and observe the suffering of the inmates, just as the circus sideshow allowed paying customers the opportunity to derive pleasure from viewing the misfortunes of the disabled" (Castricano 2008, 198). Consequently, by presenting animals to the public in an imperial light, West Edmonton Mall itself acts as both "a model of empire (where humanity holds domination over lesser species arrayed for our pleasure, our betterment, our use) and simultaneously as a metaphor for the larger, more important imperial enterprises in the sociopolitical hierarchy in which it flourishes" (Castricano 2008, 198). In other words, the mall demonstrates how, by using animals as specimens for simple entertainment, the imperial power to pierce, dominate, and control the natural world is reflected. Fundamentally, malls are institutions of power. This is mirrored in the human capability to capture exotic animals, confining them to a small convoy for long hauls, only to be imprisoned in an all-too-small artificial environment upon arrival (if they make it alive, exemplified in the case of West Edmonton Mall's fourth sea lion). After all of that, they are sentenced to a life of mindless routine, put on display for human enjoyment. As a result, through the processes of juvenilization and commodification, wild animals are domesticated and hence seen as familiar, manageable, clownish. The ability of a commercial institution to draw on the power of entertainment not only distorts our moral judgement, it also reinforces the idea of a qualitative division between humans and other forms of life, convincing us to act in unethical ways as we come to see animals as items and articles available for purchase, that exist only for us, in this case, as entertainers.
A satirical commentary on P.T Barnum: First person to have a whale captive on display for profit; also enslaved African-American woman claiming she was the World's Oldest Woman. Example of power exertion over "inferior's" to make profit
Present: Sea Lion performing tricks upon trainers commands while crowd watches. Another example of power exertion on "inferior's"
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