Pets on stage: who gets the rewards

By Lisa Cardy

ARE THE roles of pets and their owners reversing Traditionally, it has been the owners that reward the animals, but with the growing demand for animal actors the reverse is occuring.

Pippen, is probably Britain's biggest animal star. The celebrity dog's appearances so far include TV ads and a BBC children's programme, Come Outside. Now he's taking his talents, which can earn him up to 1,500 a day, to the continent. He is to be the first British animal to use the pet passport scheme for business travel. With his new passport, there's nothing holding him back says his owner, the veteran animal trainer, Ann Head, of Animalation.

Two Muscovy ducks, George and Al, should follow Pippens lead. The ducks were recently sacked from their stage jobs after it emerged that, at a rate of 250, they were almost four times as expensive as a human. An out-of-work human actor, dressed up in a duck suit, replaced them for a fraction of the cost.

But, Liz Rutherford, a director of animal agency Ganimals 2, said the charges for George and Al were reasonable, if you consider that they have to have handlers with them all the time and have to be trained and insured.

The money obviously comes in handy for their owners, but do animals enjoy being exploited for financial gain George the duck's performance, as well as his rate, was criticised. He got stage fright, missed his cues and showed obvious distress. Meanwhile, Pippen has to be on set at 5am and, if it's in the script, spend long periods in cramped conditions.

There are regulations in place to protect animals. The 1925 Performing Animals (Regulation) Act, however, does not lay down standards of animal care or welfare and can we be sure that with the new pet passports, animals will be protected by our regulations abroad

Is it ok for pets to perform just because they get well paid Would you let your pet perform Click here to let us know over on the message boards.