Netflix Fans Trying To Cancel Show Accused Of Inhumane Animal Training
Fans are trying to get the Netflix show Canine Intervention canceled citing concerns about cruelty to the animals in the show.
This article is more than 2 years old
The streaming giant Netflix has recently been the subject of a plethora of controversies surrounding the content that they put on their platforms. One of the newest upheavals is being caused by a documentary series called Canine Intervention. The show follows a typical workday for accomplished dog trainer Jas Leverette as he travels to the homes of each of his canine clients and attempts to address serious behavioral issues that the dogs are exhibiting. However, according to Popculture, many viewers of the show have expressed concerns regarding his tactics and are now petitioning to have Netflix cancel the show altogether.
Those in opposition to Canine Intervention have created a petition on the platform Change.org and are comparing the tactics used by Leverette to what other famed trainer Cesar Milan has done on his Cesar 911 program. The description of the petition cites information from The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour and argues that Leverette’s use of tools like shock and prong collars and punishment-based training techniques will eventually lead the animals to regress and revert to old behaviors or could potentially create even more adverse behaviors down the line. The petition currently has nearly 50 thousand signatures.
“Punishment-based training methods may be advocated by those without an appreciation of the current status of science in dog training. Although such methods can be effective in the short term, science tells us they are likely to exacerbate an animal’s fear and actually increase aggression in the long run. When the problem behavior involves a negative reaction to another animal, attempting to elicit the bad behavior so it can be “corrected” is not only ineffective, it puts the target animal at risk of injury. Such training methods are unacceptable.”
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour
In contrast to those calling for the outright cancellation of the Netflix show, a community of viewers is taking the opposite stance and asking for Netflix to renew Canine Intervention for a second season. Their petition has decidedly fewer people who have signed, with their figure sitting around 20 thousand. However, those in support of the show are arguing that Leverette’s techniques are not inhumane. They say it has given so many owners renewed hope that their dogs can be effectively trained and rehabilitated, ultimately saved countless dogs from being abandoned or euthanized.
Whichever perspective that a Canine Intervention viewer might have, what is clear is that Jas Leverette has been very successful in developing his career and reputation as a dog trainer. He runs the Cali K9 facility out of Oakland, CA, and has worked with a multitude of high-profile clients like Kevin Hart and Jason Derulo. Leverette himself credits where he is in life to dogs. He has expressed on the Netflix show that before connecting with dogs, he was in a very dark place, and his life was spiraling down a very dangerous path and had it not been for the relationship that he built with one of his dogs in particular that he likely would have never ended up in the position that he is in today.
It still remains to be seen whether or not Netflix will respond to viewer concerns and not re-up Canine Intervention for another season. However, if Manifest is any indication, it looks as though if viewers make enough noise, Netflix will listen. In the meantime, while consumers of Netflix content wait to find out the fate of the controversial docu-series, they can watch another documentary embroiled with controversy, a film that details the life and career of famous painter Bob Ross. Controversies that arise because of Netflix content and also by other platforms seem to be an inevitable reoccurrence simply because the social media-driven digital age in which we all live makes public opinion more visible and louder than ever before.
