World Animal Day 2024
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth"
Everyday people all over the world respond to calls for action which aim to improve the lives of animals.In a human dominated world non human animals are generally seen as resources. Something to be used in a manner which benefits us. Essentially animals are things, their sentience ignored.
We probably have moved along a bit regarding the acknowledgment of welfare. Battles have been hard fought and won in some areas such as fur farming in the UK.
Although, we still engage in that as we allow imported fur. And rabbit breeding for meat has become a thing with pelts being sold for their fur.
The Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000 does not allow animals to be bred solely for their fur, But, it does allow animals to be bred to slaughter for meat (rabbits) and then sell the fur as a by-product.
How insane is that?
I am fairly sure there is somebody somewhere out there wishing very hard that there was a way to market the sale of mink meat successfully.
Luckily for mink mother nature gave them a scent gland which generates a secretion that humans find unpalatable, thus rendering the meat inedible.
I believe we shouldn't be using animals at all, which is quite a statement & one which would turn the world upside down if it were implemented.
There is no end to the abuses & imprisonments inflicted on innocent animals we hold dominion over. From ending their lives when they are just babies & eating them to using them for entertainment and everything in between, we truly are selfish and cruel despite our intelligence.
The animal rights movement aims to give animals the rights that they should have. They are sentient beings with feelings and awareness. They feel pain and emotions. There is no reason why they should not be protected from exploitation by man.
While laws do exist in many countries (but not all) they are often difficult to interpret and, in some cases, almost impossible to police. In the past it was thought that animals were lacking in capacity, or consciousness and were unable to understand that they were being harmed. Therefore, it was believed that they should not have the same rights afforded to humans who do have consciousness and the capacity to understand when we are being abused. Thanks to science we now have enough evidence to support the argument that animals should indeed be afforded rights. But this is where we run in to problems. We cannot say that animals feel pain & have the capacity to suffer while we continue to cause pain & suffering to them. Or indeed reduce that pain & suffering in order to feel better about ourselves.
I doubt very much if non-human animals will ever achieve the rights that they deserve but it may be possible that they could be given an alternative status such as non-human person, to which rights could be attached as a building block. The status quo will not change without challenge which is why the animal rights movement is so very important. If enough of us care and refuse to engage in activities which enslave animals the cruelty will end.
Many humans baulk at the thought of an animal no longer being an it and becoming he or she, a somebody not a something. There are huge swathes of the population who insist on animal exploitation as their right.
Those involved in huge industries that rely on the exploitation of animals for financial gain push back hard at the slightest suggestion that animals should be afforded rights. Because, if they were this would have huge consequences for everybody involved in that industry, which would most likely cease to exist. For example, how could you imprison a pig with the sole intention of killing it and eating it if you no longer had dominion over the life of that non-human animal.
How far would we go in affording non- human animals rights?
Could I be labelled a murderer for accidently standing on a snail as I made my way to the washing line in my garden. Would my neighbour still be able to poison every insect that flies into his garden.
It is the goal of the animal rights movement to end suffering and remove animals from human exploitation. While we are a very long way from achieving that goal in its entirety, we are making headway in some areas albeit slowly.
Long may that progress continue.
