Cruelty to animals
Source : Google photo of mal treated elephant
Synopsis : People who do not learn to love animals in their childhood tend to be cruel to animals later in their life. When they grow up in a culture of violence toward the animals, they imitate and lose all sympathy for animals and birds so can treat them in inhuman ways. All parents have a duty to teach their children to love and appreciate animals so that they in their turn do the same to the next generation to break the cycle of violence toward all animals.
There is no limit to the cruelty that man makes animals suffer from. I have seen it in many countries and still see it today in spite of worldwide outcry. Apart from man’s cruelty towards fellow human beings that one sees almost daily in the news and reads in the papers, animals of all kinds have been subjected to most violent types of treatment that has decimated their ranks worldwide.
A magnificent lion called Cecil was gunned down by a rich American trophy hunter in Africa that brought worldwide condemnation through the internet and press but one sees this sort of outrage again and again because there is no law that prevents people from murdering in cold blood these beautiful animals. Some even boast that they have hunted all the magnificent wild animals like lions and tigers and are looking for more such killing for their own ego and pleasure. The taxidermists take the head of the slain animal and mount it on a board that these cruel people then hang in their houses to show off.
When we were growing up, we were naturally filled with empathy for the wounded birds or animals and brought them home to take care, feed and watch them recover and grow. One time I found a newly hatched bird called Bulbuli that had fallen off its nest during the storm and would have surely died had I not rescued it. It had no feathers and was starving so we the siblings took turns in feeding it several times a day and kept a watchful eye to prevent the feral cats to attack it. That ugly chick soon started growing feathers of rainbow colors and had a crown on top of its head and became a beautiful Bulbuli. We grew so fond of it because it learned to whistle so nicely but alas the cat was its enemy so one day it killed the bird.
Once I found a nest just 4 feet off the ground in a hole of the wall of our house that was under construction. There were 4 eggs in the nest that the mama bird called Khanjani came frequently to sit on. Soon the eggs hatched and out came four tiny chicks that the mama bird fed nonstop so they grew and started to drop out on the ground. I put them back in the nest every time because the cats were always around so to prevent them from falling out, I built a clay wall in front of the nest with a round hole in it through which the mama bird could feed the chicks. We were very happy when they learned to fly and one day left.
I thought this empathy comes naturally to children until I went to Algeria where I could see children torturing tethered animals by poking sticks in their anus. These poor animals suffered because they could not get away and no one stopped and told these children that it was wrong to torture animals. When such children grow up, they feel nothing for others let alone animals. I see in many countries including India where animals are tortured but people just look the other way and never stop to tell these people that it is wrong to do so.
You see wild bears that people put a rope through the nose and drag the poor beast to make him dance for a few pennies. It is extremely painful for the animal every time the madari pulls the cord to make the bear dance but they are nomads and make a living this way and continue this trade. Once we were driving down the road to Jaipur from Agra when we saw a bear on the road so we started counting. We gave up after counting no less than 18 bears being pulled this way by their handlers but there are thousands of such poor animals being tortured every day just so that these illiterate unskilled people can earn a few Rupees.
Now an NGO has come to their rescue and has set up a sanctuary somewhere. There the bears are given proper veterinary care, food and most of all freedom from torture. The handlers are given some money and training to learn a new trade like basket making or carpentry through which they can earn a living. Now a days one does not see as many bears on the road but I am sure there still are thousands that need rescue and help but NGOs run their sanctuary through donations only with little or no help from the government.
In China they raise these bears in bear farms to extract the bile and sell it as a kind of medicine. The extraction process is extremely painful for the animal and the bear bile is of dubious reputation as a medicine but the Chinese continue this awful practice even today. I have heard that the World Wildlife Fund is setting up sanctuaries for these poor bears and some have been rescued this way but more needs to be done.
The most pathetic case I know of was that of an elephant who was chained for 50 years since birth but under pressure from the animal lovers and welfare society was released. She cried and shed copious tears once she realized that she was free for the first time in her miserable life. Believe it or not, animals feel emotions just like us and show it specially an intelligent animal like the elephant.
