The proper perspective

I would like to share my views about the much-needed awareness of our pets and animals in general. No one has the right to inflict cruelty on animals. There is no exception to this rule. The public should be continuously educated and offenders should face penalties imposed by the law. Pets provide so much love to us and their love is unconditional and I commend all initiatives taken by various people throughout the last years to teach the public that animals have rights too.

However, like everything in life, one has to be careful as it is very easy to go overboard and to instil false ideas in the minds of certain people! Some animal lovers are starting to go as far as making dangerous statements that can lead to confusion.

To start with, I think we must remember that animal owners do not only have rights, when it comes to their pets, they also have responsibilities. Unfortunately, some animal lovers concentrate on “rights” only. We have to bear in mind that while advocating rights to animals, these same animals cannot hold responsibilities! This is a crucial point. When it comes to rights certain people go as far as expecting that animals have the same rights as humans but then, when the notion of “responsibilities” comes up, they very conveniently argue “but they’re animals”! We have to remember that the human being always comes first and should always come first.

What is being done to stop the bad habit of leaving dogs unattended up to the early hours of the morning barking and annoying neighbours? What is being done to stop dog, horse, cat or other animal owners from emptying their wastes in our streets and pavements? Who is doing anything about the filth and damage done by pigeons? The list is endless.

Don’t we, other people, have rights too? And, yes, it is very annoying for me to happen to be on the beach and a big dog is let loose filling everything and everyone with sand. Boundaries should exist! What is being said about the hundreds of children and adults bitten by unattended dogs every year? Nothing!

Let’s take scenarios from animal-loving countries like Britain and the US! Whenever humans were threatened by any kind of animal and there was no way out of preventing harm to humans, the same animal would be put to sleep. I agree with this and, although it may be unrealistic, if ever I had to choose between the life of a human being or an animal I would always choose the life of the human being, without hesitation, even if such human being were a criminal.

Have you ever thought that while a lot of noise is being made when a dog or a cat is harmed (and rightly so) every day thousands of other animals, the same size of cats and dogs, are killed, skinned and eaten! Rabbits, chickens, pigs… the list is very long. Doesn’t this raise a confusing eyebrow?

Let’s keep things in the right perspective. Let’s teach pet lovers how to take proper care of their pets, let’s educate the public that animal cruelty is not allowed. Let us take proper action and inspect vets and so-called vets to make sure everything is carried out in accordance with modern-day procedures and policies. However, let us also remember to protect our own kind first and foremost.

I augur that all of us keep realising how important the environment all around us really is and that we should actively preserve, protect and take care, not only of our pets but all living creatures, the air we breathe and the water we drink because, at the end of the day, we depend on this beautiful planet we are so lucky to live on.