Lights, Camera, Rescue: The Animal Trainer Who Left Hollywood Behind
From The Heart Of Show Business With Alexia Melocchi by Alexia Melocchi
April 22, 2026 · 22 min · Season 8 · Episode 3
About this episode
The episode discusses the challenges of animal training in Hollywood and the dangers of treating wild animals as pets.
Send us Fan Mail A monkey tears a seasoned primate trainer’s lip off, and the story isn’t told for shock value. It’s a warning about what happens when we mistake wild animals for pets, props, or content. We sit down with Stacy Gunderson, founder of the Animal Tracks sanctuary near Los Angeles, to pull back the curtain on Hollywood animal training, the real welfare challenges behind the “magic,” and why even well-meaning people can create dangerous situations by treating exotic animals like do...
People in this episode
Host: Alexia Melocchi
Guest: Stacy Gunderson
Topics covered
- animal training
- Hollywood
- animal welfare
- exotic animals
- sanctuary
- wildlife
- pets
Keywords
- animal trainer
- Hollywood
- animal welfare
- exotic animals
- sanctuary
- Stacy Gunderson
- Animal Tracks
- wildlife
- pets
- primate trainer
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Animal Tracks
Places: Los Angeles
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