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| Sunday, August 20, 2006 |
| Animal Cruelty in Singapore |
To paraphrase Gandhi, a country's greatness is measured my how it treats its animals. Compared to countries like China, where bile is extracted from Sun Bears under horrendous conditions, Singapore is nowhere near the tail end on the animal cruelty spectrum.
Nevertheless, gruesome cases of mistreatment such as strangled kittens occasionally arise. Why?
I believe that our society's attitudes toward animals is one of condescension ; perhaps this is because we are on the top of the food chain, the proverbial "Kings of the Jungle". This is dangerous as some members of society then rationalize the ill-treatment or neglect of animals on the grounds that they do not have the same right to life as us.
There is indeed more that can be done to change our attitudes. With limited resources, the SPCA is not a panacea for our problems. We have to be more proactive via education. Schools should teach children to respect the sanctity of all lifeforms, possibly even setting up mini-zoos where interaction with animals is fostered from a young age.
Pet shop owners can also play a part by refusing to sell pets to people whom they believe will will not be able to take good care of their animals. Again, we have to take a break from clawing up the economic ladder to focus on society's common good or else our efforts will have more bark than bite.
A note of caution though - we cannot be selective and protest the ill-treatment of beloved animals like cats and dogs while turning our backs on other species. The inflictment of pain is cruel.
As such, do you really think that animals don't feel pain when they are killed?
Unless we abandon the use of all animal products, I really think that the complete eradication of animal maltreatment is not possible - just feel the leather belt on your waist.
Source: http://blogcritics.org/ |
posted by SGPETS @ 10:55 PM  |
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