Paws down, non-human animals handily beat human animals

I’m not familiar with (other-than-human) animals bitterly taking sides among themselves and working against the other sides; lying about the innocence of others in their group; manipulating in any way possible the minds of those on other sides . . . and so on. 

Once again, I conclude that the great inclusionary poet Walt Whitman was wholly right in saying, "I think I could turn and live with animals, . . . Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,/Not one kneels to another . . . ."

Compared with people, non-human animals are so comparatively virtuous (and sane!) that it's doubly unfair for them to be the mistreated, hunted and eaten ones in this world, now threatened with destruction because of long human abuse.

Sacrificial athletes

Just one for instance: the horses who die or are put down in the so-called “sport” of horse racing.  This has been a particularly tragic year for horses (think of them as the athletes involved) at Churchill Downs, the increasingly infamous home of the Kentucky Derby.  

Earlier this month, after 12 horses died over a few weeks there, the track suspended racing on the recommendation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which also called for an extensive safety review.  So ended, at least briefly, the commodification and death of these beautiful, innocent animals.    https://tinyurl.com/ycxu2tdu

Big cat protection

Now consider the world’s wild or captive big cats – larger versions of the domestic felines so many of us love.  Abused and hunted to near extinction worldwide, big cats in the US will now benefit from the Big Cat Public Safety Act that became law last December.  

They will be saved from the cruel, exploitative “cub petting industry,” that rips cubs from their mothers to become temporary money makers: able to be photographed with or petted by paying customers until they reach potentially dangerous ages and are cruelly disposed of.

  

                                  PAWS pic

The law also protects the public from unqualified private owners who breed, sell or acquire more big cats, often causing injuries or deaths to people involved.  In short, “the law prohibits physical contact between big cats the public.”         https://tinyurl.com/ycxu2tdu  

Horrific in every way

Here’s a fact about consumption of non-human animals that’s hard to imagine and much harder to accept.  The headline says it all: “More animals than ever before—92.2 billion—are used and killed each year for food.”  Just pause and think about that number of animals, innocent and unable to defend themselves, slaughtered and turned into food for human animals.  

The scale of animal suffering is unfathomable, according to the HSUS blog (linked below), but further, this food system is also a major source of stress on the climate.  As Peter Singer advised in a column recently mentioned here, switching to plant-based foods can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Please see the short video about factory farming that’s part of the blog post linked below and ask yourself, “Do these animals deserve such a life, such a fate?” and “Must we really keep eating meat when we know all this about the animal suffering and climate damage it costs us?” https://tinyurl.com/ycxu2tdu

Tree trunks & coexistence

Finally, a small but worthy example of peaceful coexistence with wild animals: the Parks & Outdoor Dept. in Chattanooga, TN, uses a mix of sand and latex paint “to deter beavers from gnawing on the trees” by painting the tree trunks.  “Managing” human-wildlife conflicts too often ends in wildlife deaths, as happened some years ago in Princeton, NJ, when the “animal control officer” shot beavers in a public park.         https://tinyurl.com/yc3nbbc2

‘Be prepared’    

Over the last few months, I've advocated assembling disaster/survival kits and what they should contain.  Here’s one more take on that subject from a Sunday NYTimes issue earlier this month.

Pooling suggestions from 8 thinking people who have faced disaster, the double-page illustrated article makes this persuasive case: “Hurricane season just started in the Atlantic.  In the West, fires have already begun to break out. But no matter where you live, extreme weather events are becoming commonplace.”       https://tinyurl.com/2rx657nj   

And finally, June is “Adopt a Cat month” and “Foster a Pet” month – a time for people who still have love to give to animals needing loving homes.  (Don’t they all?)    

#