Tim Harrison, retired fire and police officer and animal lover, leads us through his process of discovery as he connects the dots between well known celebrity conservationists and the under-the-table exotic animal trade in the USA. It was his own childhood love of such greats in the field as Jack Hanna which initially piqued his interest, but over the years he noticed something: talk show after talk show welcomes supposed conservationists and their ‘ambassador animals’ week after week, year after year. Never once did he notice an older animal, just new baby tigers, lions, jaguars, and other big cats.
Tim starts with some notable breeders and wildlife rehabilitation experts but quickly moves to confronting these big name conservationists and even sitting congressmen and senators. It becomes obvious to viewers that our system of documentation and handling of exotic animals is as esoteric as it is nonexistent. Who knows where these animals came from? Who knows where these animals end up? These are the questions set forth at the beginning of the film which ultimately remains at its conclusion.
Sadly, while the topic of this documentary is an important one, the content of this film lacks any viewing necessity. While I think the filmmakers were simply trying to be accessible with their information, by leaning on the sensationalization and dramatization of reality show stylings they diminish any real educational value within this documentary.
The Conservation Game could have led with the legal aspect or leaned upon expert conservationists and animal rehabilitationists. Instead, we’re given a bizarre and unsatisfying detective story that ends in failure, provides little in the way of concrete evidence (most of which is hearsay and speculation), and uses the same canned footage of talk show hosts and guests over and over and over. I wouldn’t be too far off if I said that about a third of the documentary was just Jarod Miller talking to various talk show hosts and another fifth was just dramatic reenactments of conversations or events that may not have ever actually happened.
What could have been an outstanding exploration into the gray legality of the big cat and exotic animal trade ends up a sensationalized bit of infotainment which drags on for half an hour longer than anyone would have asked. Ultimately, this documentary seems to be riding the coattails of the ‘Tiger King’ scandal. The Conservation Game is a fair addition to documentary collections and is a purely optional purchase.
What public library shelves would this title be on?
The Conservation Game would be most comfortable among infotainment, though it would also be at home among animal documentaries.