By Pavithra S:
It is quite ironical to note how less we care for other humans and much less for other living beings. Laws and protests can only make people hear their voices and cries, but do they succeed in spreading their message? Has there been any progress in animal rights protection? Before answering these questions, let us look into the common ill-treatments towards animals and why we need to stop it.
The world is populated with as many animals and birds as there are humans. This signifies the fact that they have a right to survival and well-being. But what good can this argument be if the animals cannot speak for themselves. We use animals in every stage of our life, be it for milk, meat, skin or most commonly as pets. But little do we realize that in every stage the animals are being ill-treated and tormented.
Animals, most commonly donkeys, cows and horses are used for transportation of bulk commodities. The first concern would be whether they are well-fed and taken care of since they carry ridiculously large loads. The answer is negative in most of the cases owing to the owner’s poverty and greed. Apart from this when the animal gets hurt there are few practices followed that not only cause agonizing pain but also intensify the wound. For example, any inflated area is treated by laying hot iron rod over it. The belief is that it reduces the swelling but in reality all it does is causes open wounds. Another practice is to apply battery acids on wounds to speed up the healing process, but it does just the opposite and causes an overshoot of pain.
Yet another cruelty to which everyone remains oblivious is the use of animals in research works. It is pitiable to learn the various ways in which they are misused for no benefit of theirs. It is a common practice now to test every drug and cosmetic product on the laboratory animals before it can be certified for use on humans. Though such inhumane practice is widely accepted, is it not against our morals to allow such cruelties? Most of the animals either succumb to the harsh chemicals or they are slit open to study the extent of damage to the internal organs.
Dogs and cats are the usually favored pets, but do the owners, who take an extreme liking towards their pets, actually tender to their needs? We treat them in the way that pleases us and appears to be the right one. Is that what the animals want? We very easily fail to realize that animals not only appear in every part of human life but also have equal rights and feelings towards survival and pain. The few of us who understand the cruelty towards animals cringe back from taking any responsibility for eradicating it.
Over the past few years many animal rights organizations and NGOs have stepped forward and voiced out the woes of these animals. But how far the broad-mindedness of the society has improved still remains an issue of concern. The Farm Animal Welfare Council, an independent organ of European Committee has enlisted few rights for the farm animals like freedom from hunger, thirst, pain, injury and discomfort and freedom to express normal behavior. Though these laws date back to 1979, how many of us are aware of this? How far has the awareness spread?
We need to understand the fact that animals feel pain and solitude in the same way as humans. It is our moral responsibility to take care of these animals and see to it that they are well nurtured and groomed. One need not adopt all the stray animals in order to make this happen. All you have to do is call any animal welfare organization when you see an injured or stray animal, report animal abuse and raise voice against the ill-treatment of any animal by its owner.
Simple measures can save many of these animals from torment and agony inflicted by humans. Though the NGOs and self-help groups have spread far and wide they have not succeeded in eradicating this social evil, the reason being negligence and ignorance of the people. A radical change is possible only when every one of us considers this as their moral responsibility and fights for better treatment and handling of animals.