Article: Animals have as much rights as humans

Sunday May 10, 2009

By RASHVINJEET S.BEDI

THE 16th American President Abraham Lincoln once said he was in favour of animal rights as well as human rights.

“That is the way of a whole human being,” he said.

And just like humans have their stated rights, so should animals – they should have freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from fear, freedom from pain and injury, freedom to live and freedom to express natural behaviour.

“These are the generally accepted animal rights,” says Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) spokesperson Jacinta Johnson.

People treat their animals differently. There are those who over-pamper them and there are those who abuse them, Johnson says.

Of the latter, she says they “semi-own” the pets, meaning they just feed them but never do much beyond that, like taking them to the vet.

“Their definition of caring for a pet is providing it with food,” she says.

Johnson says a responsible pet owner would take care of its food, exercise, environment and veterinary treatment, among other things.

On the other hand, “We don’t support over-pampering of pets, such as buying it expensive clothes, or sending it for grooming or to the pet spa,” she says.

“It’s not a basic need for a pet. If you didn’t send your pet to a spa, it doesn’t make you a bad owner.”

On the opposite extreme, there are those who intentionally abuse animals, ranging from caging them to torturing them.

“An animal can’t be caged all the time. It is not given the freedom to express its natural behaviour,” Johnson says.

Independent Pet Rescuers founding member Sherrina Krishnan says Malaysians can be unintentionally cruel to their pets.

“Just look at the number of strays around. It is the fault of people and not the animals,” she says.

The number of strays could be reduced but many people think it is sinful to neuter pets, especially cats, she explains.

“They might think it is sinful to prevent the cats from giving birth, but when kittens are delivered they are dumped everywhere. That’s more sinful,” says Krishnan, adding that she often calls the authorities in charge of the Ampang Elevated Highway where a lot of kittens are dumped.

Releasing doves during occasions such as weddings is another practice that is not encouraged by animal rights advocates.

“Releasing doves is supposed to be a sign of freedom and purity. But why do you need animals to advocate that for humans?” Krishnan wonders.

Johnson agrees, saying that the practice of releasing doves is no longer acceptable in the United Kingdom and European countries.

“Most of the doves would have been purchased from a pet shop where they would have been fed. If you release them in any place, they might not have a source of food and they might find it difficult to survive,” she says.

“People might think that they are releasing the dove and it is free to fly away, but they don’t see the bigger picture,” she adds.

Similarly, releasing turtles and terrapins into the wild is not encouraged, as it can be harmful to the ecology. However, people usually release these animals into drains and ponds when they grow too big, says Johnson.

“What people don’t understand is these terrapins can grow really big. People like them when they are small and cute but when the novelty wears off they try to off-load them,” she says.

SPCA also doesn’t encourage keeping exotic or wild animals such as iguanas, snakes or reptiles. Johnson says the in-thing nowadays is to keep sugar gliders, a small mammal that looks like a snail without a tail. According to Johnson, these animals are kept in the pocket and carried around.

“We don’t encourage it because we can never provide the right environment for these animals. Snakes are kept in a glass tank, for example. That is not the proper environment for them,” she says.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated,” Mahatma Gandhi, the eminent Indian leader who inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world, once said.

Such words should be a guide for all who have animals under their care.

Related Story:
Dogged by islanders’ cruel action

This article was taken from: The Star Online: News: Opinion 10 May 2009