Man has the intelligence to make use of animals for his own benefit. The ways in which man uses animals are many and varied. Sometimes however mangoes beyond the borders of human decency by misusing the very animals that serve him.
Take for example the dog. Most people keep dogs as pets-cum-guard-dogs. These faithful animals are fed and looked after in exchange for their vigilance and obedience. Most dog-owners love their dogs and take good care of them. A dog is a man’s best friends is a popular saying that is undoubtedly true.
The dog is a very useful animal. It is an indispensable part of the police force, the anti-drug squad, and other security organizations. It serves as a guide dog for the blind, a retriever for the hunter and a clown for the circus. What a versatile and intelligent animal it is.
Yet some so-called human beings abuse them.
Dog-eating is a habit practiced by some sections of society that consider dog-meat a delicacy, especially so if the dog is tortured to death slowly. So these people indulge in beating the unfortunate dog to death with a stick making sure it dies slowly. The adrenalin that flows through the dog’s body while it is being tortured is supposed to make its meat tender. This cruelty to the helpless dog is detestable. These human culprits should be given a dose of their own medicine. Then they will know the meaning of pain ‘and torture.
In India, cows are considered sacred objects. They are left alone to do as they please. Only bulls are made use of for pulling carts and plows. These animals are very much respected by the Hindus as well as others. So the -cows and bulls have a reasonably simple life virtually free from abuse and torture.
However, things are very different a few thousand mile away in Spain and Mexico. In these places, bull-fighting is a sport. Bulls are bred for the sole purpose that it will be slaughtered by the matadors in the bull-ring. How these people revel in the formalized killing of the innocent bull! How much glory the matador derives from his acts of killing! It is not a contest of skill or strength. It is the mockery of a helpless beast in the hands of a for the superior man. This is an example of man’s blatant misuse of an animal.
Fortunately the. rest of the world do not engage in this sort of savagery. Mostly, cows are bred for milk and meat. Outright abuse of these gentle animals is not normally practiced. We use them. There is no doubt about the fact. It is our methods that heed to be watched constantly.
Other animals that man has domesticated are goats, sheep, donkeys, horses, camels, yaks, pigs, elephants, poultry and cats. They serve as beasts of burden and pets. They provide .man with food, clothing, and fuel. Their value to mankind is enormous. However man’s appreciation for them not of the same order.
Elephants pull logs, donkeys carry burdens over treacherous terrains, horses make the turf clubs rich, camels cross deserts, cats control the rats and chickens provide man with food. All of them serve man and make his life easier and better. When man abuse these animals it is a crime onto life itself. After all, man and animal share the same earth. We breathe the same air and eat the same food.
It is up to man to realize his place on this earth so that he will stop misusing animals and start being useful to them for a change. Up till now the man had taken from the animals and given nothing back. Maybe it is time to change the situation and give the animals what is due to them.