Animals and humans

While most of the ideas expressed in this article are mine, I was inspired to write about the subject after various interesting, intellectual exchanges with Mario Spiteri, former director of the Animal Welfare Department, who is now in charge of a number of departments related to rural matters.

... evolution requires man to become less carnivorous and more vegetarian- Anthony Licari

Dr Spiteri is also remembered as an efficient and enthusiastic director of the Health Promotion Unit, which was clearly seen and felt to be producing results.

I am sure readers will immediately understand why my title is not Animal And Man as this is an ambiguous title and, in any case, it would deserve a different basis for discussion.

I suppose it is inevitable to write about animals and men without referring to the scientific and religious opinions regarding the origins of man.

One mentions Adam and Eve and the famous apple that eliminated euphoria and led to our suffering hot and cold, pain and sadness etc. on earth.

The other opinion is that we evolved from a race of primates, which (my spellcheck does not accept the expression “who” used for animals but that requires a wholly different discussion) were the most intelligent among the various races. Some comment today that evolution was not uniform for all descendants of this race. Others prefer to criticise animals’ intelligence by referring to Bendu’s sheep – in the case of some voters sometimes.

One of the mysteries of nature is that some animals have to kill and eat others to survive. Some of the promoters of the Garden of Eden theory state that no animal was aggressive during the short Adam and Eve stint. Does this mean that the abused apple was also responsible for the ferociousness of some animal races? And can’t we descendants of Adam and Eve excuse ourselves for their eating of the forbidden fruit so everything goes back to normal (no pun intended on punctured tyres and apples) with a renewed enjoyment of the Garden of Eden? Can’t we be given another chance?

Some persons I know accept all animals as they are, whether they are fierce or peaceful, whether they are “attractive” or not.

Even some animal lovers have exceptions. They do not accept scorpions, rats, mosquitoes, flies and cockroaches. A foreign lady placing fly-infested food in my street told me that she has absolutely nothing against these creatures and has never killed a cockroach in her life. I hope that she did not immigrate to our country determined to multiply the population of what some people call vermin.

I have also spoken to animal lovers who call strays “pets”, not understanding the difference, and who approve of cats killing rats.

Health and animal welfare people I have spoken to disagree with neighbour disturbance by disorganised food spread in streets as it smells of a selfish habit. (See Feeding Strays, January 18, emphasising cleanliness.)

On the other hand, stray adoption is a more civilised and altruistic habit. This implies, of course, that altruism may not necessarily be practised with humans.

Animals usually like to mind their own business. They are incapable of hatred and of voluntary disturbance of humans. However, animals may be used by humans to harass other humans. We all know of humans using pigeons to decorate the white linen drying on roofs, dogs howling in flats as they are enslaved and not taken for a walk, dog owners with some education who spoil pavements, screech-lovers who wake people up with their cocks on roofs etc. Dolphins have been used to carry explosives.

Circuses remain a controversial issue. In spite of all excuses and weak explanations, the use of animals in circuses remains a sad use of wild animals that do not want to share their lives with people doing strange gymnastics to please “civilised” humans.

Abuse of animals includes fox-hunting, which was a horrible English practice and which, luckily, has been officially banned.

Cock, dog, bull fighting remain in some countries where evolution is slow.

But animal abuse may also take the shape of production of foie gras, lobsters boiled alive and the brutal killing of animals for food. Giving a toddler a baby animal as a toy is often referred to as a sweet habit. It is, however, a horrible habit as very young children rarely treat animals as creatures but as toys.

Animals are capable of helping sick people get better. The explanation is that most animals exude kindness and have a natural tendency to make other creatures feel better. Many hospitals nowadays allow visits by friends of patients associations visiting patients with animals.

I believe that evolution requires man to become less carnivorous and more vegetarian. This does not necessarily lead to a massive overpopulation of animals as compared to man. Animal numbers may be limited without butchery.